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U.S. Factory Orders Fall 3.9% in December Feb 6, 2009 |
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Orders to U.S. factories fell for a record fifth straight month in December, according to the Commerce Department. For all of 2008, factory orders rose 0.4%, the weakest showing since orders fell by 1.8% in 2002.
For December, demand for durable goods fell by 3%. Demand for primary metals such as steel were off by 7.1%, machinery orders fell by 5.7%, and orders for computers and other electronic products were down 6.5%.