U.S. durable goods orders declined 2.9% to US$191.3 billion last month, the Commerce Department said today.

Non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft — a barometer of business spending — fell 3.5%, after shooting up 6% in March.

April’s slackening in demand for big-ticket goods came after sizable gains in February and March, where orders went up by 3.9% and a strong 5.7%, respectively.

Economists were predicting a drop in orders for April, given the robust demand in March, but they were forecasting a smaller, 0.8% decline.

The April decline was led by a 4.7% drop in demand for transportation equipment, including cars and airplanes. Factories saw demand for those products increase by 4.1% in March.

Orders also fell in April for machinery, primary metals, including steel, and fabricated metal products. Orders for communications equipment, computers, electrical equipment and appliances, however, all posted solid gains.