In all, more than $2.21 billion of farm equipment was shipped during the third month of the year, according to preliminary numbers from the Census Bureau. That's down from the $2.35 billion that was seen during February.
The value of farm equipment shipped had seen gains since at least December. On a year-to-year basis, the value of farm equipment shipped in March is down 7 percent compared to 2009.
Construction equipment is also down 8.7 percent on a year-over-year basis, though March saw a 9 percent gain in the value of these machines compared to February.
Overall, the third month saw new orders for manufactured goods increased $5 billion to 391.5 billion, a 1.3 percent gain over February. The Census Bureau noted that 11 of the last 12 months have seen increases in orders.
Gross domestic product has also posted gains over the last two quarters. The first quarter of 2010 saw GDP increase 3.6 percent, while the prior quarter saw a 5.6 percent gain.
