U.S. Factory Orders Ticked Down in April

Orders at U.S. factories fell slightly in April, a sign of weakening demand for American-made goods.

Orders for manufactured goods decreased 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted $469 billion in April, the Commerce Department said Monday, matching expectations of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The decline comes after four consecutive monthly increases.

Orders in March were revised to an increase of 1% from an initial estimate of a 0.2% increase.

A driver behind April's fall was a decrease in new orders for transportation equipment, which fell by 1.4% after two consecutive monthly increases.

Excluding transportation, orders were up 0.1%. Excluding defense, another volatile category, orders fell 0.2%.

Orders for nondurable goods, which include products like fuel and drugs, rose 0.4% to $238 billion.

The Commerce Department report on factory orders can be accessed at http://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3.

Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2017 10:22 ET (14:22 GMT)