Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting orders to decline 3%.
The drop in factory orders was a more modest rate than in November, which was revised down to a 6.5% plunge, the steepest dive since July 2000. Five straight months of declining factory orders are unprecedented in the report.
An indicator of business confidence fell, as non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft slipped by 3.2%. That was a sharper drop than the 2.8 slide first reported.
The rise in factory orders for all of 2008 of 0.4% was the weakest showing since a 1.8% decline in 2002.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods rose in December to the highest level on record.
The inventory-to-shipments ratio rose to 1.44% in December.
Durable goods orders slid 3% in the month, a steeper decline than the 2.6% first reported last week. Non-durable goods orders slid 4.8% following an 8.7% decline in November.
Inflation (CPI)
Tenn. economy hasn’t hit bottom yet, UT reports
Industrial Production
U.S. home sales rise in December
