By David Harrison

New orders for appliances, cars, computers and other durable goods fell in December, as manufacturers continue to struggle with supply and labor shortages and higher prices.

New orders for products meant to last at least three years decreased 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted $267.6 billion in December from November, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.6% decline.

Orders increased 3.2% in November from the prior month, up from an earlier estimate for that month that had shown a 2.5% increase.

Deplenished business and retail inventories have translated to increased demand for manufacturers, but supply-chain bottlenecks continue to constrain production and delay some shipments. The Omicron variant of Covid-19, which caused case counts to rise rapidly in December, has also kept workers out of the labor force.

New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft-so-called core capital-goods, a closely watched proxy for business investment, were flat in December compared with the previous month.

Write to David Harrison at david.harrison@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2022 09:12 ET (14:12 GMT)

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