Fickle sales for durable goods

Orders for durable goods fell 5.3% in January, a decrease of $12 billion, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The loss, exceeding analyst expectations, reflected tumultuous market conditions. It followed a December increase of 4.4%. Non-defense orders for capital goods decreased $6.6 billion, an 8.1% loss. Unfilled orders of capital goods increased $5 billion, or 1.1%. The largest losses were sustained by transportation equipment, down $61.2 billion, or 13.4%, following a 10.2% gain in December. Orders for machinery fell 1.5%, while orders for computers and electronics were down 2.7%. Orders for electrical equipment increased by 1.4%. The largest increase observed was in the category of computers and electronic products, which jumped 7.1% to $36.1 billion. Electronics have been up for three of the last four months.