US factory orders declined in October

(Dow Jones) - Orders for US manufactured goods fell 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted $479.6bn in October, the Commerce Department said Monday. 

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.3% decline in October. The decrease comes after two consecutive months of robust orders growth. 

Excluding transportation, a volatile part of the overall reading, factory orders were up 0.8% in October from the previous month. Orders were up 0.2% in the same time frame when excluding defence spending, another volatile part of factory orders figures. 

Durable goods drop in new orders

New orders for durable goods fell 0.8% from September, a slightly smaller decline from an earlier estimate of a 1.2% drop. 

The Commerce Department wasn’t able to isolate the potential effects of recent hurricanes that hit the southern and eastern US on data released in the last three months because the report is designed to capture changes at the national level and lacks geographic detail. 

The Commerce Department’s report on factory orders can be accessed here.