U.S. durable goods down for fifth straight month

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Chinese media) -- Orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods tumbled 2.6 percent in December 2008, the fifth straight monthly decline, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The December decline in orders for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last at least three years, followed a 3.7 percent plunge in November and was bigger than the expected 2 percent decrease.

However, demand for transportation equipment, which accounts for more than one quarter of total durable goods orders, rose by 0.6 percent in December, rebounding from a 9.8 percent plunge the previous month.

While orders for commercial aircraft and parts, a very volatile category, plummeted 43.6 percent in December and demand for autos and parts also dropped 5.2 percent, that for defense aircraft and parts surged 16.4 percent.

Excluding volatile transportation demand, orders for durable goods would have dropped 3.6 percent last month, compared with November's 1.7 percent decline in orders outside transportation.

Demand for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched guide to business investment plans, declined 2.8 percent last month, in contrast to the 1.7 percent gain in November.

For all of 2008, durable goods orders fell 5.7 percent, the second biggest drop on record, exceeded only by a 10.7 percent plunge in 2001.