New orders to U.S. manufacturers for aircraft, autos, heavy machinery and other goods declined in June.

Wednesday's report from the Commerce Department says orders for manufactured goods intended to last at least three years were down by a sharp 2.1 percent.

The decline in “durable goods” was largely due to a steep decline in orders for commercial aircraft.

Manufacturing had been one of the few bright spots in the slow U.S. recovery from the economic crisis.