Orders for expensive manufactured good rose only slightly in November, falling short of expectations, according to new data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday. The report showed orders for “durable” goods - products expected to last at least three years - increased by just 0.1 percent last month, the first increase in the last four months. The results followed a 0.4 percent drop in October and came despite economists' hope for a rebound of about 2.2 percent. Excluding volatile orders for transportation equipment, which varies widely from month to month, demand for all other costly manufactured goods fell by 0.7 percent in November, marking the second straight monthly decline. Orders for machinery, computers and electronic products, communications equipment, defense aircraft and fabricated metal products all dropped in November. The losses were offset by gains in demand for electrical equipment and appliances, automobiles, commercial airplanes and primary metals, including steel, producing the small rise in overall orders. Demand for capital goods, excluding aircraft - a category considered a good proxy for business investment - fell by 0.4 percent in November, the second straight monthly decline.
