**MNI: 5 Things We Learned From November US Durable Goods Data>

By Holly Stokes, Sara Haire, and Kevin Kastner

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

November durable goods data released Friday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - Durable goods new orders rose much less than expected, as an 

expected sharp increase in transportation orders was offset by surprising 

weakness in other categories.

     - Durable goods new orders rise 1.3%, weaker than the 2.3% rise 

expected. Ex-transport orders fell 0.1% vs the 0.6% gain expected, 

pointing to underlying softness in the data. Nondefense capital goods 

orders rose 2.6%, but were down 0.1% excluding aircraft.  

     - Transportation orders were up 4.2%, driven by nondefense aircraft 

orders (+14.5%), defense aircraft orders (+11.9%), motor vehicles 

orders (+1.4%) and the unlisted transportation orders category (+6.5%). 

     - Outside of transportation orders, there were declines in 

fabricated metals (-0.3%), machinery (-1.1%), and computers and 

electronics (-0.3%) that offset gains in the primary metals (+0.8%) 

and all other durables (+0.3%) categories.

     - Shipments rose 1.0%. Nondefense capital goods shipments rose 2.1% 

but were up only 0.3% excluding civilian aircraft orders. Durable 

inventories were up 0.2%, while unfilled orders were up 0.1%.

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]