The company's products are used by diverse consumer and industrial markets, including flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, coatings, residential and commercial construction as well as other durable and non-durable goods.

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And orders for non-durable goods, such as processed food and clothing, also rose - by 0.8%.

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Non-durable goods orders also posted the steepest decline since that period, falling 2.0%.

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For most of the past three decades, the price of non-durable goods has been falling relative to the price of the services investment advice, personal care, domestic help and so on that the rich spend more of their money on.

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The Commerce Department also reported that orders for non-transportation durable goods in January rose by a stronger-than-expected 1.9% (the most in a year).

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Consumer-goods orders fell 1.9%, with consumer durable goods orders falling 0.7% and non-durables down 2.2%.

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The Fed has apparently ignored recent jumps in the ISM Mfg Index, ISM Non-Mfg Index (service sector), retail sales, durable goods orders, and the like, which indicated even the point in the recovery may be near where the employment situation improves.

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