WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-made goods fell more than expected in November as aircraft bookings fell sharply, while higher borrowing costs dampened demand for other goods.
The Commerce Department said on Friday that factory orders fell 1.8% after rising 0.4% in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders falling 0.8%. November orders up 12.2%
Fed’s fastest rate hike cycle since
s because it Fighting inflation, so demand for goods, which are often bought on credit, is slowing. Americans are also shifting spending from goods to services as the country enters the post-pandemic era.
A survey by the Institute for Supply Management this week showed its gauge of national factory activity contracted for the second time in December in a row. Manufacturing accounts for 11.3% of the U.S. economy.
Factory orders plunged as bookings for transportation equipment fell 6.3% after rising 1.9% in October. Transportation equipment orders were dragged down by 36. Orders for civilian aircraft fell 4%.
Orders for defense aircraft fell 8.6%. Motor vehicle orders rose 0.6%. Orders for machinery, computers and electronics, and electrical equipment, appliances and components rose modestly.
Commerce also reported that non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft, seen as a measure of business plans for equipment spending, rose 0.1% in November , rather than the 0.2 percent increase reported last month.
Shipments of these products – known as core capital goods, which are used to calculate business equipment spending in the GDP report – fell 0.1% as previously reported.
