Washington ? Orders placed with U.S. factories fell for the second consecutive month in September, the first back-to-back decline in two years. Demand dropped sharply for manufactured goods other than defense materials, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Overall, factory orders slipped by 0.4 percent, or $1.3 billion, in September to $368.3 billion, following a decrease of 0.3 percent in August that reversed a months-long trend of increases. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent increase.

It was the first back-to-back decline since November and December of 2002 and the first economic indicator to be released after Tuesday’s election.

The latest data provided another piece of evidence “that the nation’s manufacturing base is downshifting,” said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Economy.com.