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[Bullwinkle]

US durable goods orders plunge 10.2%
Fri Feb 24, 11:30 AM ET


WASHINGTON (AFP) - US durable goods orders plunged 10.2 in January on a steep decline in aircraft orders.

Despite the surprisingly sharp drop, analysts said the underlying trend for durable goods, a gauge of the health of manufacturing, remained strong.

The decline in orders for big-ticket items expected to last three years or more was the largest since July 2000 and far exceeded the 2.0 percent drop expected by economists.

Aircraft orders fell 68.2 percent in January after averaging more than three times the normal level from October through December. Total transportation orders fell 31.2 percent.

Orders were healthier elsewhere in the durable goods industries, but the performance was mixed across sectors. Excluding transportation goods, total orders rose 0.6 percent.

Dick Green at Briefing.com said the overall trend after smoothing out the volatility remained healthy.

"Aircraft orders tend to be huge, and several orders had caused a spike in transportation orders the past few months," he said. "In January, transportation orders dropped back down. It is not cause for concern. Year-over-year total durable orders are up 6.5 percent."

Robert Brusca at FAO Economics said the report was nonetheless disappointing.

"This is not the report that growth mongers were hoping for," Brusca said.

"Strength or weakness in the airframe sector does not make or break the economy, but it does make or break the durable goods report where aircraft orders have an outsized impact."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060224/ts_afp/useconomymanufacturingdurable_060224162616