Durable Goods Orders Drop in October

Durable goods orders declined 2% in October, the Commerce Department said Nov. 27.

The drop followed a revised 4.1% gain in September that was larger than originally reported.

Orders excluding transportation equipment, which often is volatile, fell 0.1% following a 0.2% gain in September.

“There’s not that sense of new capital spending,” John Silva, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, told Bloomberg News.

“There may be a replacement of capital, but not new capital spending that needs to be stimulated because of higher output production levels,” he said.

Demand for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment in computers and electronics, declined 1.2% for a second month.

Durable goods include large items meant to last at least three years, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. Trucking is a major beneficiary of durable goods manufacturing, hauling components and finished products.