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Durable Goods Orders Fall, Paced by Commercial Aircraft

Bill Koenig
By Bill Koenig Senior Editor, SME Media

Durable goods orders slid in February, paced by a big decrease in commerce aircraft orders, the Commerce Department reported today.

Orders slipped 2.2 percent to $271.5 billion last month. That snapped a streak of four months with order increases.

Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.6 percent, according to the department. Excluding defense, orders decreased 2.7 percent.

The overall transportation equipment category fell 5.6 percent to $82.6 billion. That ended a streak of three-monthly increases.

Within the sector, orders for commercial aircraft plunged 30 percent to $13.5 billion. Boeing Co. has been hampered in 2022 by a pause in 787 Dreamliner deliveries to address manufacturing problems.

Orders for motor vehicles and parts posted a monthly decline of 0.5 percent to $54.5 billion. Auto industry production continues to feel the impact of a global shortage of computer chips.

The one bright spot within transportation was defense aircraft, up 60 percent to $4.7 billion.

Orders slipped in other industries, according to today’s report.

Orders for machinery fell 2.6 percent to $38.9 billion. Orders for primary metals slid 0.9 percent to $24.9 billion. Orders for fabricated metal products declined percent to $37.4 billion.

The durable goods report is based on a survey of about 3,100 companies.

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