“Good times” not necessarily here to stay:
America’s factories saw orders for big-ticket goods drop by 3.1 percent in November, the largest decline in more than a year, raising new questions about how firm a grip manufacturers have on their own fragile recovery.
The drop reported by the Commerce Department Wednesday in orders for “durable goods” costly manufactured items expected to last at least three years came after a brisk 4 percent advance in October and a solid 2.2 percent increase in September.
The 3.1 percent decrease was the first decline since August and the largest since September 2002, when durable-goods orders plunged by 6 percent.
The performance in November was considerably weaker than economists were expecting. They were forecasting a 0.6 percent rise. The weakness was broadbased, with cars, communications equipment, computers and machinery among the categories showing a drop in orders last month.
A one month drop isn’t a huge news item. But another month or two like it and it will be.