U.S. ‘Big-Ticket’ Factory Orders Take 1.7% Drop

Orders to U.S. factories for “big-ticket” durable goods plunged 1.7% in September, the third decline in the last four months, the government said today.

The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods--items expected to last more than three years--totaled a seasonally adjusted $124.9 billion.

Orders had fallen 0.8% in August and 3.1% in June. They rose 2.7% in July largely due to aircraft orders but are down 0.5% during the first nine months of 1990 compared to the same period of last year.

Durable goods orders are a key barometer of manufacturing industry plans for production. A decrease in orders could result in a slump in that sector and subsequent layoffs.

In fact, the Labor Department reported earlier that 66,000 factory jobs were lost in September. It was the 17th time out of 18 months that manufacturing jobs declined.

Since reaching a post-recession peak in January, 1989, the manufacturing sector has lost 500,000 jobs, the department said.