As the general economic outlook for the rest of the world continues to crawl, it seems that American business is finally feeling those world wide effects. In an unexpected development, sales of durable goods and business equipment fell sharply in September leaving economist wondering if the world wide slowdown has finally reached American shores.

The Commerce Department announced on Tuesday that the sale of durable goods for September plunged 1.2 percent, according to Reuters. This follows on the proverbial heels of a 1.6 percent decline in August. Durable goods are those items that are predicted to last for more than three years like office equipment, refrigerators, and factory machinery.

The manufacturing sector of the economy continues to struggle due to a weakened dollar, as well as demand, and huge slashes in the energy industry sector of the economy. In addition, because the global economic situation has been so slow, the manufacturing sector, as well as other sectors, are stuck with huge amounts of inventory that they need to move. This stifles both the desire for growth as well as for hiring on new employees.

The figures for the third quarter gross domestic product will be issued on Thursday but analysts and economist are gloomy. While the second quarter expanded at a 3.9 percent clip, estimates for the third quarter expect to be in the anemic 1.6 percent annual rate range. Because the dollar has gained as much as 15 percent over the last year against other major currencies, many multinationals are being severely hurt with regard to exports and profits.

The downward slide in oil and gasoline process have also hurt exporters like Caterpillar who rely on a strong energy sector for sales. Thoughts on whether or not the central bank, the Federal Reserve, will raise its benchmark rate have been mixed so far. However, business has definitely slowed and more layoffs continue with few hiring’s. Businesses are cutting back, not spending or hiring, and continue to focus on shrinking their inventories.