The U.S. Commerce Department released factory orders data on Tuesday. Factory orders in the U.S. dropped 3.4% in December, missing expectations for a 1.8% decrease, after a 1.7% decline in November. That was the fifth straight decline.
November's figure was revised down from a 0.7% fall.
Manufacturing in the U.S. is cooling due to weak global demand and falling oil prices.
Factory orders excluding transportation fell 2.3% in December, the biggest decline since March 2013.