Durable Goods Orders Fall 2.1% During October

Orders to U.S. factories for durable goods fell 2.1% in October, the third decline in the last four months, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said orders totaled $104.4 billion last month, a $2.2-billion decline from the September level.

The 2.1% drop followed a 0.9% September decline and was the largest setback since a 2.3% drop in July.

The weakness was attributed to another big drop in demand for military equipment. Defense orders fell 26.6% last month after declining 21.1% in September.

While the declines in defense orders have been substantial, analysts cautioned that this category is volatile and orders are likely to surge again in coming months as the Reagan Administration’s defense buildup continues.

Without the big decline in defense orders, total orders would have shown no change last month, the Commerce Department said.

Even without the volatile swings in defense orders, demand for manufactured goods has been sluggish all year. For the first 10 months of the year, orders have been rising at an annual rate of 3.7%, down sharply from the 14.8% increase in orders for all of 1984.

The U.S. manufacturing sector has been hit hard this year by a flood of foreign goods, which have robbed domestic manufacturers of sales. Since January, the United States has lost 270,000 manufacturing jobs as layoffs and plant closings have been widespread.