Last month, motor vehicles and parts orders saw their largest fall in eight months, and a closely watched gauge of business spending dropped 2.9 percent after a 3.3 percent rise in December.
Shipments, which go into the calculation of GDP, slipped 0.2 percent. They rose 2.4 percent in December.
Some analysts drew comfort from gains in some categories, in particular large orders for computers and electronic products, pointing to increased business investment in equipment and software.
“Unfilled orders increased for the first time since September 2008 and inventories did not fall for the first time since December 2008,” said Tony Crescenzi, portfolio manager at PIMCO in Newport Beach, California. “In this context these data are not as bearish for the economy as the core data suggest.”
RSS