NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Orders for manufactured goods fell by $6.8 billion, or 1.7 percent, in September due to a drop in demand for durable goods and nondurable goods, the government reported Thursday.

Economists polled by Briefing.com expected overall factory orders to drop one percent after an upwardly revised 2.9 percent rise in August.

Orders for durable goods -- items expected to last more than three years -- fell $5.1 billion, or 2.4 percent, according to the report. This followed a 3.9 percent August increase.

Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft -- seen as a proxy for business spending -- were revised down to a drop of 1.5 percent from a 1.2 percent reading released last week.

Orders for nondurable goods decreased $1.7 billion, or 0.9 percent, to $183.5 billion.

September inventories of manufactured durable goods fell $0.2 billion, or 0.1 percent, to $281.8 billion, unchanged from the previously published 0.1 percent decrease. This followed a 0.3 percent August decrease.

Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods fell for the second straight month, down $0.2 billion, or 0.1 percent, to $180.9 billion.

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