Durable Goods Orders May Point to U.S. Manufacturing Slowdown

Orders for durable goods in May probably failed to make up for the worst four months since the recession, indicating U.S. manufacturing will cool, economists said before a report today.

The projected 0.5 percent gain in bookings for goods meant to last at least three years would follow little change in April, according to the median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Orders fell 6.6 percent in the first four months of the year, the weakest stretch since the same period in 2009, during the last recession.