Durable Goods Orders Plunge 5.9% in September

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/downgraph.gif" width=72 align=right alt="">New orders for durable goods fell 5.9% in September, their steepest decline since November 2001, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Durable goods, big-ticket items intended to last at least three years, are often a sign of how quickly stores are selling goods. As sales increase, orders go up and shipments of goods to stores follow suit.

The decline took the value of durable goods orders to $167.6 billion in September, the Commerce Department reported. Discounting transportation orders, durables orders fell 1% during the month.

Orders for non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft, fell 6.6%, indicating to economists that businesses are still unwilling to spend their revenues on new equipment. Non-defense capital orders often serve as a proxy for business capital spending.

Inventories of durable goods fell 0.2% and shipments slipped 1.1%, Commerce reported.

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