Durable Goods Orders Fall 4.5% in August

Durable goods orders fell 4.5% in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Orders fell twice as much as forecast, Bloomberg reported.

Excluding transportation orders, bookings for goods meant to last several years decreased 3%, Commerce said. Bloomberg reported that this was the largest drop since January 2007.

Economists had expected orders to fall 1.9% after the 1.3% increase in July, and excluding transportation orders to fall by 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.

Durable goods include large items such as refrigerators and air conditioners. Trucking is a major beneficiary of durable goods manufacturing, hauling both components and finished goods.