U.S. February durable orders declined 0.2% after plummeting 7.3% in January, giving few signs of hope that the manufacturing sector will post a quick turn-around. In fact, the orders data show continuing weakness in most sectors. Excluding the volatile transportation category, durables orders were up a small 0.5% in February after declining for two months. The main source of "strength" in the series was in a 6.0% rise in electronics orders.