The July Commerce Department report indicates that new orders for manufactured durable goods fell by 2% in June after rising by 2.7% the previous month, suggesting that manufacturing production will remain in a trough at least through the early months of the third quarter, according to Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

"It appears that the rise in orders in [May] may simply have been the eye of the storm. The fact is, [the] drop in durable goods orders implies that poor conditions will continue for manufacturers in the third quarter," says Jasinowski.