A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a smaller than expected decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of May.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders fell by 0.6 percent in May after tumbling by a revised 1.0 percent in April.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to drop by 1.0 percent compared to the 1.6 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.
The decrease in durable goods orders was led by orders for transportation equipment, which slid by 1.0 percent in May after plunging by 6.1 percent in April.
Orders for motor vehicles and parts and non-defense aircraft and parts plunged by 4.2 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively, while orders for defense aircraft and parts soared by 21.1 percent.
Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.3 percent in May after spiking by 1.9 percent in April. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent.
The report showed notable decreases in orders for electrical equipment, appliances, and components and fabricated metal products.
The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, an indicator of business spending, dipped by 0.2 percent in May after spiking by 2.3 percent in April.
Shipments of durable goods also edged down by 0.1 percent in May after coming in unchanged in the previous month.
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