New orders for manufactured goods fell 0.8% to $494.4 billion in April from a revised $498.4 billion in March, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed.
Econoday had forecast a 0.4% decline for April.
New orders for manufactured durable goods posted a downwardly revised decline of 1.6% to $248.6 billion. A 6.0% dip in transportation equipment drove the decrease.
New orders for manufactured nondurable goods edged up 0.1% to $245.8 billion.
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods rose 0.5% to $1.153 trillion, following a 0.8% increase in the prior month.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods gained 0.3% to $401.9 billion after a 0.2% increase previously. Fabricated metal products led growth.
The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.35 in April, unchanged from March.
