Orders for U.S.-made durable goods sank in December, falling 2.6% on weaker demand for a wide range of products, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding the 0.6% gain in transportation goods, orders fell 3.6%. The decrease exceeded the expected 2.0% fall forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. It was the fifth straight decline in new orders. The report was weak across the board. One of the only bright spots was a jump in commercial aircraft. Shipments fell 0.7% in December, and were down 1.4% excluding transportation goods. Inventories rose 0.4.
