The manufacturing sector got evidence of a mild slowdown Tuesday when the government said orders fell more than expected.

The Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured goods dropped by 1.2% in June, on the heels of May’s 1.8% decline and worse than the 0.5% decrease economists were predicting.

New orders have now fallen for two consecutive months.

Shipments of manufactured durable goods, also down two months in a row now, eased 0.8% following May’s 1.8% decrease. Durable goods are big-ticket items that usually last at least three years.

In the new orders category, transportation equipment fell 2%, the largest falloff and now down in four of the last five months. Orders for construction machinery fell 23.2% from May.

On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management said its widely watched manufacturing index came in at 55.5 in July, down from June’s 56.2 but a bit better than the 54.7 economists had been looking for.

The ISM says that any reading above 50 suggests growth in the sector.