WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed a substantial pullback by new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said factory orders plunged by 3.7 percent in April after surging by a downwardly revised 3.4 percent in March.
Economists had expected factory orders to tumble by 3.0 percent compared to the 4.3 percent spike originally reported for the previous month.
The steep drop by factory orders, which followed four consecutive monthly increases, came as durable goods orders dove by 6.3 percent in April after soaring by 7.6 percent in March.
Orders for transportation equipment led the way lower, plummeting by 17.1 percent in April after skyrocketing by 23.5 percent in March.
The report said orders for non-durable goods also slid by 0.9 percent in April after falling by 0.7 percent in the previous month.
The Commerce Department said shipments of manufactured goods also fell by 0.3 percent in April after slipping by 0.2 percent in March.
Inventories of manufactured goods also edged down by 0.1 percent in April after inching up by 0.1 percent in March, with the modest decrease following six consecutive monthly increases.
With shipments dipping by slightly more than inventories, the inventories-to-shipments ratio crept up to 1.58 in April from 1.57 in March.
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