Long lasting headache attacks.
Orders for the goods -- relatively expensive, long-lasting items -- slipped 0.6percentto to $182 billion, the Commerce Department said.
The notion of doing more with less may already be taking hold in industries that make long-lasting items like refrigerators and furniture.
In the third quarter, spending on durable goods -- expensive, long-lasting items like cars and appliances -- grew just 1.7percentt, down from 7percentt in the previous quarter.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that orders for durable goods, which include long-lasting items like refrigerators and planes, were up 0.3 percent in December.
Appliances, cars, houses and other long-lasting items accounted for 19percentt of spending earlier this year, up from about 15percentt in 1990, according to James W. Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management.
And spending by consumers and businesses on large, long-lasting items fell last month, although the decline was largely limited to the purchase of cars and airplanes, the Commerce Department said.
Price points vary, but retailers note that shoppers are willing to spend on long-lasting items.
Orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell slightly more than expected in November, the government said Tuesday in a report that showed weak demand for costly, long-lasting items.
Demand for U.S. manufactured goods rose at the sharpest rate in three months in June, as a solid rise in orders for long-lasting items joined with a small gain in demand for other goods, the government said on Monday.
Buy durable and long-lasting items.
