US manufactured goods sales plunge 17.2% in April

[WASHINGTON] New orders for US manufactured goods cratered in April amid the Covid-19 pandemic as factories shut down nationwide, plunging 17.2 per cent, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

That decline came after a 16.6 per cent drop in March, taking sales down to US$170 billion from US$246 billion before the virus hit the world's largest economy.

Excluding transportation, sales fell just 7.4 per cent, according to the data.

AFP

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