(Bloomberg) --
Orders placed with U.S. factories for business equipment fell in February for the third time in four months, suggesting corporate investment remains subdued amid a slowing global economy and uncertainty over the trade war with China.
Non-military capital-goods orders excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business investment -- fell 0.1 percent, after an upwardly revised 0.9 percent increase the prior month, according to Commerce Department figures released Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.1 percent gain. The broader measure of bookings for all durable goods, or items meant to last at least three years, dropped by less than expected.
Key Insights
- The data add to signs that U.S. economic growth is cooling from last year as slowing expansion in China and Europe weighs on corporate America. At the same time, a separate report Monday showed a factory index from the Institute for Supply Management rebounded in March from a two-year low.
- Some figures that are used to calculate gross domestic product were slightly more encouraging: Shipments of non-military capital goods excluding aircraft were unchanged, compared with the Bloomberg survey median estimate of a 0.1 percent decline, and the prior month was revised upward.
- The headline durable-goods figures reflect a 31.1 percent plunge in orders for civilian aircraft and parts, a category that tends to be volatile. Separate data showed Boeing Co.'s aircraft orders fell in February from the prior month.
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- February's three-month annualized gain in business-equipment shipments rose to 3.3 percent from 2.2 percent, while the decline in orders eased to 3.4 percent from 4.9 percent.
- Excluding transportation equipment, durable-goods orders rose 0.1 percent, matching analyst projections, after a 0.1 percent decrease. Defense capital-goods orders fell 3.4 percent in February.
- Categories posting gains in orders included electrical equipment, primary metals and fabricated metal products. Sectors with declines included motor vehicles and parts, computers and electronic products and machinery.
- Durable goods inventories rose 0.3 percent. Analysts look at inventories to help refine estimates for GDP.
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