Reply #46: December factory orders disappoint (BUT)

[54anickel]

But November's number is revised upward, and growth for the year is highest since 1992.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/03/news/economy/factory_orders.reut/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. factory orders rose a smaller-than-expected 0.3 percent in December, as orders for transportation equipment reversed a hefty gain the preceding month, a government report showed Thursday.

Orders rose to a record $379.09 billion in December from $378.05 billion in November, the Commerce Department said. November's 1.4 percent rise was an upward revision from an originally reported 1.2 percent.

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Transportation orders, the largest single component in factory business, fell 2.1 percent after an upwardly revised 9.4 percent surge in November.

Nondefense aircraft and parts orders plummeted 16.8 percent after an upwardly revised 64.7 percent surge the previous month. Defense aircraft and parts orders weakened 31.8 percent after a 3.7 percent drop in November.

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