http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4380982/

[dArKeR]

Aircraft, auto bookings lead decline
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:05 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2004

WASHINGTON - Factories saw orders for big-ticket goods drop by 1.8 percent in January, but much of that reflected huge declines in bookings for commercial and military airplanes.

The overall figure, released by the Commerce Department Thursday, obscured gains in other areas as the nation's manufacturers work to keep their recovery moving along.

The 1.8 percent decrease in orders for "durable" goods _ costly manufactured products expected to last at least three years _ came after a revised 1.6 percent gain registered in December, which was better than previously estimated.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4380982/