WASHINGTON (AFP) - New orders for US manufactured goods fell 7.3 per cent in July after three straight months of gains, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Total orders for the month were US$226.6 billion (S$289.6 billion), US$17.8 billion below June's figure.

The main source of the fall was a drop in orders for transportation equipment - notably often volatile civilian aircraft orders - which fell 19.4 per cent to US$69.7 billion.

Excluding transportation, however, new orders for durable goods were down 0.6 per cent.

For the year to date, durable goods orders reached US$1.525 trillion, up a modest 3.3 per cent from the same period in 2012.