Washington ? America’s factories saw orders for big-ticket goods decrease by 3.1 percent in November, the largest decline in more than a year, raising new questions about how firm a grip manufacturers have on their own fragile recovery.

The drop reported by the Commerce Department Wednesday in orders for “durable goods” — costly manufactured items expected to last at least three years — came after a brisk 4 percent advance in October and a solid 2.2 percent increase in September.

The 3.1 percent decrease was the first decline since August and the largest since September 2002, when durable-goods orders fell by 6 percent.

The performance in November was considerably weaker than economists were expecting. They were forecasting a 0.6 percent rise.

Although economists were disappointed, they said they believe the drop in durable-goods orders in November was just a short-lived, one-month rough patch rather than a signal of troubled times ahead for the nation’s manufacturers.