New orders for U.S. manufactured goods declined in January following two consecutive monthly increase, reflecting a bumpy economic recovery, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported on Monday.

In January, U.S. factory orders fell 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 462.6 billion U.S. dollars, following a revised 1.4 percent increase in December.

New orders for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last at least three years such as computers, cars and machinery, decreased 3.7 percent to 206.9 billion dollars in January. This followed a 3.3 percent increase in December.

New orders for nondurable goods, including food, paper products, petroleum and coal products, increased 1.3 percent to 255.7 billion dollars for the month.

The recovery of the manufacturing sector has served as a main engine of the U.S. economic growth during past several quarters. The U.S. economy grew at a quicker pace of 3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year than earlier estimate, and is expected to gain momentum this year.