By Joshua Kirby

Orders for longer-lasting goods in the U.S. were unchanged in December, pointing to little movement in manufacturing as the year ended.

New orders for products meant to last at three years, such as appliances, computers, cars and other manufactured goods, were stable on month, adjusted seasonally, according to Commerce Department figures set out Thursday.

The increase maintains stable the surge of 5.5% in November, but comes short of expectations for a further slight rise, according to economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

Orders were dragged by the transportation sector and by capital-goods in the defense sector. Sectors seeing a rise on orders included communications equipment and computers and electronic products.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2024 09:05 ET (14:05 GMT)