Business news with words aircraft+department+excluding. 2 news.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A big jump in demand for civilian aircraft pushed durable goods orders up for the first time in four months in November, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding transportation orders, however, durable goods orders fell by 0.7% in November. New orders for non-defense aircraft and parts shot up by 20.9% in November, the data show. However, new orders for defense aircraft and parts dropped by 20.1% in the same month. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting orders for durable goods to climb by 2.9% in November after falling by 0.2% in October.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for durable goods plunged 4.9% in August after a 6.1% gain in July, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, as bookings for new aircraft see-sawed lower. It was the biggest decline since January. Excluding the 11.2% drop in transportation goods orders, new orders fell 1.8% in August after a 3.4% gain in July. Shipments of durable goods fell 1.6% in August, the biggest decline in 11 months. New orders were soft across the board, reversing the universal strength seen in July's report. Businesses reduced their orders for capital equipment from U.S. factories in August by 0.7%, another sign that capital spending and exports may not be strong enough to offset weakness in other areas of the economy.