Transport Equipment Drop Pulls Durables Orders Down

Orders for durable goods fell 4.8% in November, but if the drop in orders for transportation equipment is removed from the figures, orders rose 1.1%, the Commerce Department said in a report released Friday.

In another Friday report, the Labor Department said that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 last week to 392,000.

The increase in so-called “ex-transportation” durable goods orders follows a revised October rise of 2.9% -- it is the first back-to-back increase in the figure since November-December 1999.

The consecutive increases suggest to analysts that the yearlong manufacturing slump may be drawing to a close, Bloomberg reported.

In November, the value of all durable goods orders was $175.6 billion. Ex-transportation, that figure was $125.5 billion.

A 57.9% drop in orders for aircraft led the decline in overall orders, Commerce said.

Both the 4.8% drop in overall orders and the 1.1% increase in ex-transportation orders were better than analysts had projected, Bloomberg said. The business wire said that expectations were for a 5.5% drop in overall orders and a 0.5% decline in ex-transportation orders.

Increased orders and sales of durable goods are good news for the struggling trucking industry. Durable goods are manufactured products that are expected to last at least three years.

An increase in orders can boost demand for dry van and flatbed trucking services.

The level of initial jobless claims remained below 400,000 for the third straight week. The four-week moving average, a device used to take the volatility out of the labor statistics is at its lowest point since the week of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

For the week ended Sept. 15 the four-week moving average was 410,500; last week the average was 413,250, down from 438,500.

An improved employment picture can be a boost to the trucking industry because it can lead to higher levels of production and increased consumer spending.

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