U.S. durable goods orders show a December 0.2% average gain

WASHINGTON – Orders to U.S. factories for manufactured goods with moderately small tickets rose 0.2% in December, held back by a sharp drop in a volatile aviation sector. A major sector pursuing business investment decisions has delayed it.

The rise in orders for durable goods, which were expected to last at least three years, came after much stronger increases of 1.2% in November and 1.8% in October, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.

Orders for commercial flights, hit hard by the sharp decline in air travel during the pandemic fell 51.8% in December. Separately, Boeing announced Wednesday it lost $ 8.4 billion in the fourth quarter, lamenting a loss higher than all 2020.

Shares covering business investment plans rose 0.6% after higher gains of 1% in November and 1.7% in December.

Economists expected total orders to post a stronger upward growth of around 1% in December but noted that overall profit was held back by the sharp decline in flight orders. Excluding transport orders, total orders rose 0.7% in December, followed by a 0.8% increase in November.

Even with the slowdown, total orders are close to their pre-pandemic levels. Orders for motor vehicles rose 1.4% in December while demand for defensive aircraft jumped 5%.

“The manufacturing sector is doing moderately well even as virus cases have escalated,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “December data shows strong but slower growth both in business investment and in equipment consumption. ”