US manufacturing orders fell for a second straight month in September as aircraft orders continued to slip, the Commerce Department reported. New orders for manufactured goods dropped $2.8 billion, or 0.6%, to $499.4b. That followed a 10% downturn in August, with a fall in orders for Boeing aircraft, normally volatile month to month, mainly explaining the drop, Channel News Asia reported. But manufactured goods shipments showed some strength, rising 0.1% in September to $503.4b. Significant gains in new orders came in iron and steel mill output, likely driven by auto orders, and in power generation equipment.
