Date: 02-29-2008
The Commerce Department has revealed a larger than expected decrease in the new orders for manufacturing goods, showing a 5.3% slump in January. The fall is attributed to a decline in corporate investment and ongoing weakness in the industrial sector. The most significant specific decrease was a 13.4% drop in transportation equipment orders. Sources suggest that the shrinking orders are an ominous sign of likely recession in the U.S. economy overall. Capital goods orders, which are seen as an indicator of business confidence, have declined for the third time in the last four months. The worse than expected report follows a series of setbacks for various U.S businesses, including significant price inflation and big write-downs in the banking, insurance, and homebuilding sectors.
