U.S. factory orders drop more than expected in November

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Chinese media) -- New orders for manufactured goods to factories in the United States dropped by 4.6 percent in November, nearly double the 2.5 percent drop economists expected, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The more-than-expected drop marked a record fourth straight monthly decline, reflecting the intensifying effects of the recession, which started in December 2007.

Factory orders have been falling since August, including a 6.0 percent plunge in October, the biggest setback in eight years.

In November, demand for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last at least three years such as computers, cars and machinery, declined by 1.5 percent, representing an improvement from a plunge of 8.5 percent in October.

Orders for transportation equipment, which account for more than a quarter of total durable goods demand, decreased by 7.6 percent, compared to a 12.8 percent plunge in the previous month.

Excluding volatile transportation products, overall factory orders would have fallen by 4.2 percent, following a 5.1 percent decline in October.

Orders for nondurable goods, including food, paper products, petroleum and coal products, were down 7.4 percent in November after a 3.8 percent decrease in October.

The report also showed that factory shipments, considered a good indication of current demand, dropped by 5.3 percent in November after having declined 3.6 percent in the previous month.

The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.41 in November, up from 1.33 in October. The ratio is a measure of how long it would take to deplete stocks at the current sales pace.