Durable goods orders off slightly

New orders for durable goods fell by a lower-than-expected 0.5% last month, according to data from the Department of Commerce. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting a 2.8% drop, while analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 2% decline. Durable goods, which are manufactured goods designed to last at least three years, have fallen for three of the past four months. Last month’s decline followed a 0.3% decrease in March. Excluding transportation orders from the calculation, orders rose 2.5% last month. Transportation orders, however, were off 8% as civilian-aircraft orders fell 24.4%. Non-defense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft, increased last month by 4.2% after falling 1% in March. Shipments of manufactured durable goods rose 1.2% last month, following two consecutive monthly decreases. Non-defense new orders for capital goods fell 1.4%, and new defense orders for capital goods increased 4.8%.