Factory Orders Fall 1.3% in February

Factory orders fell 1.3% in February, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The gain followed a revised 2.3% gain in January that was smaller than the 2.5% originally reported.

The downturn was bigger than the 0.8% forecast by economists, Bloomberg reported.

Durable goods orders, which make up about half of factory orders, fell by 1.1%. Bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, fell by 2.4%.

Transportation equipment orders rose 1.8%, led by aircraft demand at 5.1%, while automobile demand fell 2%.

The trucking industry relies on factory orders and shipments for much of its business.