U.S. Factory Orders Down 0.8%

Orders to U.S. factories for manufactured goods fell 0.8% in February, the second consecutive monthly decline, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said orders for durable and non-durable goods dropped to a seasonally adjusted $210.86 billion last month after a 0.6% January decline. The February drop was the largest since a 1.4% setback in August. The back-to-back declines were the first such since the summer of 1986.