Orders for durable goods, which are meant to last at least three years, fell in October, according to data released on Wednesday.
Durable-goods orders fell 4.4% last month, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast a 2.2% decrease.
September’s reading was revised down to a 0.1% decline, compared to an initial advance of 0.7%.
Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders increased 0.1% in October. That missed expectations for a rise of 0.4%.
September’s reading was revised down to a 0.6% drop from an initial 0.1% increase.
A key measure of business investment, meanwhile, held steady in October. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, were unchanged from a month earlier.
Economists had expected an increase of 0.2%.
The prior month’s figure was revised from an initial 0.1% drop to a decline of 0.5%.
