General Electric's Aviation factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S..
Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years decreased 1.3 percent after declining 18.3 percent in August, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.5 percent gain.
Companies are looking for more signs of sustained consumer demand before making high-dollar investments, even as households benefit from strong job gains and pared-down debt. As markets in Europe and emerging nations slow, fewer exports will probably also
damp orders in coming months, indicating American manufacturing will cool.
“Clearly businesses seem a little worried, not so much about U.S. growth but global growth, so they’re being very cautious,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, who forecast a 0.8 percent drop in orders. “The worry is they retreat back into their shells.”
Stock-index futures trimmed prior gains after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in December rose 0.3 percent to 1,963.2 at 8:44 a.m. in New York. It had been up as much as 0.6 percent earlier today.
Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years decreased 1.3 percent after... Read More
Survey Results
Bloomberg survey estimates for durable goods ranged from a decline of 1.7 percent to an increase of 5 percent after a previously reported 18.4 percent drop in August.Excluding transportation equipment, which is often volatile month to month, bookings declined 0.2 percent, today’s report showed.
Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment in items like computers, engines and communications equipment, dropped 1.7 percent, the most since January, after a 0.3 percent gain the previous month.
Shipments of non-defense capital goods, used in calculating gross domestic product, fell 0.2 percent after rising 0.1 percent.
The figures may prompt some economists to cut forecasts for third-quarter GDP. A report later this week is projected to show the world’s largest economy grew at a 3 percent annualized rate from July through September after a 4.6 percent gain in the previous three months that marked the best performance since the end of 2011, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Bright Spot
Cars and trucks remain a source of strength for manufacturing and the economy. Vehicles sold at a 16.3 million annualized rate last month, capping the best quarter since 2006, according to figures from Ward’s Automotive Group. General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC, and Nissan Motor Co. reported 19 percent increases in U.S. sales in September from a year ago.U.S. car and truck sales probably will rise for an unprecedented sixth straight year in 2015 and might exceed 17 million for the first time since 2001, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas.
“We think the housing market will continue to improve, which does influence the truck market,” Hinrichs told investors on Sept. 29. Ford expects U.S. auto sales to rise to a record 18 million by the end of the decade.
GM will build the electric drive unit for the next-generation Chevrolet Volt in Warren, Michigan, and plans to announce almost $300 million in new investment in the state by the end of the year, the company said in a statement. GM said it has so far invested about $1.82 billion in projects in the state dedicated to vehicle electrification.
Durable goods data were hurt by a 2.8 percent drop in demand for machinery, the biggest decline since February 2013. Bookings for computers and electronic equipment fell 2.5 percent, the most this year.
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