New orders received by US factories took a surprisingly steep tumble for a second month in a row during September, according to a Commerce Department report on Tuesday underlining an accelerating decline in manufacturing activity as the economy heads into recession.
Overall factory orders dropped 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted $432 billion - much steeper than the 0.8 percent decline that Wall Street economists had forecast. That followed a revised 4.3 percent plunge in August orders that previously was reported as a 4 percent decline. The picture was even grimmer when transportation orders were excluded, with orders down a record 3.7 percent in September after a 3.6 percent August drop.
Orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 3.3 percent after an 8.9 percent drop in August, but that is unlikely to continue given a dramatic decline in October sales reported by new-car dealers whose lots are full of unsold vehicles.
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