2020.04.2413:26:00UTC+00New Orders For U.S. Durable Goods Fall 14.4 Percent In March

A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed new orders for US manufactured durable goods plunged 14.4 percent in March of 2020, after rising by a downwardly revised 1.1 percent in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to fall 15 percent in March. The drop in orders in March was the steepest since August 2014.

A sharp 41 percent decline in demand for transportation equipment, due largely to a near 300 percent drop in orders for non-defense aircraft and parts, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, contributed to the fall in new durable goods orders.

Excluding transportation, new orders were down 0.2 percent, the report from the Commerce Department showed. Excluding defense, new orders fell 15.8 percent. Meanwhile, core capital goods orders, excluding aircraft and military hardware, edged up 0.1 percent in the month, the data showed.