New Orders For Computers Fall; Dip In Buying Seen In '05New Orders For Computers Fall; Dip In Buying Seen In '05

After several months of gains, new orders for computers fell 16.1% in October, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. The government preliminarily pegged the value of those orders in October at a seasonally adjusted $5.67 billion. Still, new orders for computers in October rose 13.7% year over year.

Looking at all manufacturing industries, factory orders rose a seasonally adjusted .5% in October. That metric had been flat in September. For the year, new orders for all manufactured goods rose 11.1%.

Earlier this week, a report issued by the research firm IDC said market demand for IT products and services will dip over the next 12 months. Its Buyer Intent index slipped to 1,088 from 1,091. However, IDC says, the index is about 5% higher than it was in January.

The index, which can fluctuate widely month to month, shows line-of-business executives more buoyant about IT buys in the coming months than CIOs. For most of the year, CIOs expressed more confidence. The December index is the first time since March that expectations of line-of-business execs on the intent of IT purchases surpassed CIOs' vision, mirroring the positions both categories of managers held for most of last year.