Not the most cheery sign for how the U.S. economy is doing these days.
New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods plummeted by the most in eight months in December, and shipments were weak, suggesting business investment shrank further in the fourth quarter.
Figures released Tuesday by the Commerce Department showed orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.9% last month. The department said demand for machinery, primary metals and electrical equipment, appliances and components declined. It was the largest such decrease since April.
Moreover, data for November was revised lower to show these so-called core capital goods orders edging up 0.1% instead of gaining 0.2% as previously reported. Economists had forecast core capital goods would be unchanged in December.
Core capital goods orders rose 0.8% on a year-on-year basis in December.
