US factory orders post surprise fall

New orders for US factory goods fell in April for the third time in four months as demand slipped for everything from cars and machinery to computers, the latest worrisome sign for the economy. The Commerce Department said on Monday orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.6 percent during the month. The government also revised its estimate for new orders in March to show a steeper decline.
Economists had forecast orders rising 0.2 percent in April. The report showed broad weakness in a sector that has carried the economic recovery, adding to a growing body of soft economic data in the United States. The Commerce Department report showed new orders for motor vehicles and parts fell 0.5 percent in April. An increase in new orders for civilian aircraft buoyed the overall transportation sector.
Outside transportation, orders dropped 1.1 percent, with machinery down 2.9 percent and orders for computers and electronics off by 0.8 percent. The government also revised downward its estimate for new orders of long-lasting manufactured goods in April. Orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft - seen as a measure of business confidence and spending plans - dipped 2.1 percent in April. Shipments of this category, which go into calculations of gross domestic product, fell 1.5 percent during the month.