Orders to U.S. factories for manufactured items fell in February for the third time in the past four months, while a category that measures business investment fell for the sixth consecutive month, the government reported Wednesday. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods - expensive manufactured items expected to last at least three years - fell 1.4 percent last month following a 2 percent increase in January and declines of 3.7 and 2.2 percent in the previous two months. The weakness in February was widespread, with slower demand for commercial aircraft, autos, computers, and machinery. Transportation orders fell 3.5 percent. Excluding transportation, durable-goods orders fell 0.4 percent. Non-defense capital items excluding aircraft - a key category that is a measure of business investment plans - fell 1.4 percent in February. The category last rose in August. Economists expect domestic demand to strengthen in coming months, following a period of weakness in the second half of 2014, and they hope that will be sufficient to offset weakness caused by a stronger U.S. dollar, which hurts export sales. Also, the end of winter and the resolution of a labor dispute at U.S. west-coast ports - which caused supply disruptions - should be positive developments for a rebound in durable-goods orders.