Washington (AFP) – New orders for US manufactured durable goods rose sharply in October, driven almost entirely by transportation equipment and far surpassing expectations, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Total new orders jumped 4.8 percent to $239.4 billion, marking four straight months of gains. The consensus forecast among analysts had called for an increase of only 1.1 percent.
Transportation equipment orders, which have also posted increases for four months in a row, surged 12 percent to $9.5 billion.
However, new orders rose only 1 percent excluding this important but volatile component. Civilian aircraft and parts nearly doubled, rising 94.1 percent.
Excluding defense goods, overall orders increased 5.2 percent, the data showed.
Total orders for September were revised upward to show a 0.4 percent, after the initial report showed a decline of 0.1 percent.
New orders for computers and related products jumped 6.8 percent but communications equipment declined 1.2 percent.
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