‘Big-Ticket’ Durable Goods Orders Off

Orders for “big-ticket” durable goods, held back by slumping demand in the transportation category, slipped 0.1% in September, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods, items expected to last three or more years, edged down to a seasonally adjusted $126.68 billion last month after a huge 3.9% rise in August.

Orders to factories for durable goods are a key bellwether of the health of American industry, providing an early indication of future production and hiring needs.

Analysts said both the August and September orders reports were skewed by a big swing in demand for automobiles, which had surged in August only to drop back to a more normal level in September.

Without this wide swing, orders would have risen 1.8% in September after a 2.6% August advance.

Many analysts are looking for the manufacturing sector to slow in coming months as demand weakens, not only for new cars but also for U.S. export sales and for production of capital equipment for American businesses.

In September, orders in the transportation category fell 4.7% after a 7.3% August increase. The September weakness was attributed to a $3-billion decline in orders for new cars, a drop that was partially offset by a $1-billion rise in aircraft orders.

Orders in the volatile military category surged 56.3%.

Orders in the machinery category, which includes computers, dropped 2.4%.