Reflecting a sharp pullback in orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing U.S. durable goods orders tumbled by much more than expected in the month of November.
The report said durable goods orders plunged by 2.1 percent in November after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in October.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.6 percent compared to the 1.1 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding the steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders edged up by 0.2 percent in November after inching up by 0.1 percent in October. Ex-transportation orders were expected to be unchanged.
