Orders for manufactured goods fell 0.5% in February, the Commerce Department said Monday.
Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal were expecting a 0.6% decline.
This is the first decline in factory orders following nine consecutive monthly increases.
The factory sector has been a bright spot during the pandemic even with supply-chain woes. Economists are seeing signs that demand in the sector could be weakening.
Durable-goods orders fell a revised 2.1% in February, slightly better than the initial estimate of a 2.2% decrease.
Orders for nondurable goods were up 1.2% in the month.
The closely-watched orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft , fell a revised 0.2% in February, up slightly from the prior reading of a 0.3% fall.
Stocks were mixed in early trading Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
down slightly.
