US factory orders down 5.2 percent in August

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell for the most in more than three years in August, mainly due to a plummeting in volatile aircraft orders, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported Thursday. In August, U.S. factory orders decreased by 24.9 billion U.S. dollars, or 5.2 percent, to a seasonally adjusted 452.8 billion dollars, marking the biggest drop since January 2009. It followed a revised 2.6 percent gain in July. New orders for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last at least three years such as computers, cars and machinery, declined 13.2 percent to 198.3 billion dollars in August. The demand for commercial aircraft plunged 102 percent. New orders for nondurable goods, including food, paper products, petroleum and coal products, increased 2.2 percent to 254.5 billion dollars for the month. Manufacturing has been a bright spot in output and employment since the recession ended in June 2009. But the sector has shown signs of weakening in recent months. After three consecutive months of contraction, the manufacturing sector returned to growth in September.