Orders for Durable Goods Drop in February

Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods dropped sharply in February, the Commerce Department said. It attributed the drop to a steep slide in demand for commercial aircraft and parts, which may in part be a reflection of weaker exports to Asia. New orders for goods intended to last three years or longer fell 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted $184.02 billion. That is much steeper than the 0.5% decline forecast by Wall Street economists, and it follows a revised 1.5% increase in January. Transportation equipment orders dropped 8.5% to $41.64 billion after rising 6.3% in January. Orders for industrial machinery increased 3.2% to $36.55 billion following a 2.2% January rise, and primary metals orders rose 2.1% to $15.36 billion after a 2.1% decline in January.