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.S. orders for durable goods fell by 2.8% in March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Trucking is a major beneficiary of durable goods manufacturing, hauling both components and finished goods.
Orders of goods made to last at least three years declined to $194 billion after falling a revised 0.2% in February, Commerce said. Excluding transportation orders, bookings fell 1%.
Analysts had expected a 0.3% increase in durables orders, Bloomberg reported.
Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 4.7% in March, Commerce said, the biggest drop since November 2003.
Machinery orders fell 7.6%, the most since June 2002, the monthly report said.