Demand for U.S. durable goods fell during January dragged down by a big drop in commercial-aircraft orders.

The U.S. Commerce Department said today that durable-goods orders decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.9% to US$200.40 billion last month after climbing an upwardly revised 1.4% in December.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a barometer of business spending, rose 2.9% after a 3.3% increase in December.

The big drop in January orders reflected a decline of $2.17 billion in demand for commercial aircraft and parts, which fell to $5.84 billion last month. The 27.1% drop followed a 16.8% decline in December.

Transportation orders fell 5.3% in January after falling 2.2% in December. Absent transportation, orders for all other durable goods increased 0.8%, following December’s 2.8% rise. Capital-goods orders fell 0.8%, following a 1.8% decrease in December. Non-defense capital goods, or items meant to last 10 years or more, increased 0.2%.

Durable-goods inventories rose 0.9% last month. Unfilled orders decreased 0.2%. Shipments advanced 1.5%.

Meanwhile, U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 312,000, after seasonal adjustments, in the week that ended Feb. 19, the U.S. Labor Department said today. The four-week average fell by 3,250 to a four-year low of 308,750. Averages below 350,000 typically indicate net job creation.