Durable goods orders down 1 percent

Durable goods orders decreased by 1 percent in the United States in November, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

New orders for manufactured durable goods — products expected last more than three years — decreased for the fourth consecutive month, shrinking in November to $186.9 billion.

New orders in transportation equipment led the decline, falling 7.4 percent to $44.3 billion. Orders not related to defense aircraft shrunk $3.4 billion, the report said.

Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.2 percent, the report said.

Shipments of durable goods fell 2.6 percent to $195.9 billion following a 3.4 percent decrease in October. Unfilled orders, down for the second month in a row, fell 0.6 percent to $815.6 billion.

Inventories of manufactured durable goods, gaining for 16 of the past 17 months, rose 0.5 percent to $342.9 billion, indicating a backlog of goods that normally turns to production slowdowns.