A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell by more than expected in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said factory orders slid by 0.7 percent in February after plunging by a revised 2.1 percent in January.
Economists had expected factory orders to decrease by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.6 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.
The bigger than expected decline in factory orders came as durable goods orders fell by 1.0 percent in February after plummeting by 5.0 percent in January. Orders for transportation equipment led the way lower, tumbling by 2.8 percent.
The Commerce Department said orders for non-durable goods also dipped by 0.4 percent in February after jumping by 1.1 percent in January.
The report also said shipments of manufactured goods slid by 0.5 percent in February after rising by 0.3 percent in January.
Inventories of manufactured goods also edged down by 0.1 percent in February, matching the modest decrease seen in the previous month.
With shipments falling by more than inventories, the inventories-to-shipments ratio crept up to 1.49 in February from 1.48 in January.
