Orders for U.S. Goods Decrease by the Most in Three Years
By Timothy R. Homan - Apr 25, 2012 8:45 AM ET
Orders for U.S. durable goods fell in March by the most in three years, indicating manufacturing will contribute less to growth this year.
Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years dropped 4.2 percent, the biggest decrease since January 2009, after a revised 1.9 percent gain the prior month, data from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Economists forecast a 1.7 percent decline, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Orders for U.S. durable goods fell 4.2 percent in March, the biggest decrease since January 2009, after a revised 1.9 percent gain the prior month, data from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Michael McKee and Betty Liu report on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
Slowdowns in Europe and China may limit exports, while business investment cools after the strongest 10-quarter performance in a decade, leading to a slowdown in manufacturing. Improving sales in the U.S., led by pent-up demand for automobiles, are supporting companies from 3M Co. (MMM) to Texas Instruments Inc.
“There’s perhaps a modest reassessment taking place,” said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York. “There’s probably a healthy amount of skepticism with regard to how activity will unfold. There’s some caution looking ahead.”
Stock-index futures trimmed earlier gains after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in June climbed 0.6 percent to 1,377.9 at 8:45 a.m. in New York after Apple Inc. reported better-than-forecast earnings.
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/orders-for-u-s-durable-goods-drop-by-the-most-in-three-years.html
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