U.S. durable goods orders fall for third straight month

U.S. durable goods orders fell 0.3% in March 2008, as demand for machinery dropped substantially, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected March 2008 durable goods orders to rise 0.6%. Durable goods orders decreased a revised 0.9% in February 2008.

Excluding transportation, durable goods orders rose 1.5% in March 2008.

In March 2008 core capital goods orders were flat, after declining the previous two months. Inventories rose 1.1%, the category's eighth increase in the past nine months. Shipments decreased 0.4%, its fourth decline in the last five months. Unfilled orders increased 0.9%.

Another negative datapoint

Economist David H. Wang told BloggingStocks Thursday the March 2008 durable goods statistic is additional bad news for the U.S. economy.

"Demand continues to weaken, and a third straight durable goods order decline indicates that the U.S. economy is contracting. For the economy to grow, we must see stronger durable goods demand, " Wang said. "If you exclude the defense-related hardware component, the durable goods order statistic would have been even worse. U.S. corporations continue to benefit from international demand, but those exports are not enough to overcome clear weakness in orders and sales at home."