Orders for longer-lasting manufactured goods rose sharply in March thanks to big purchases of passenger planes, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Durable goods orders soared 3.2 percent last month, far exceeding Wall Street’s estimate of a 0.9 percent rise. The prior months one percent decline was revised down to a 1.2 percent drop.
Orders were boosted by a 78.4 percent jump in orders for non-defense aircraft, a category that tends to be extremely volatile because passenger plane have huge price tags and orders tend to be lumpy. Boeing said in March that it had received orders for 38 planes. There have reportedly been sales to United Airlines and Air India.
Orders for motor vehicles and parts declined 0.1 percent, stabilizing after a one percent decline in February. This category is also volatile because it is impacted by orders from “fleet” purchasers, such as rental car companies.
Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.3 percent. This was significantly better than the 0.2 percent decline expected and the downwardly revised 0.3 percent decline reported for February.
Orders for core capital goods, regarded as a proxy for business investment, fell 0.4 percent. These include non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft. Wall Street had expected core capital goods orders to rise 0.2 percent. This was the fourth decline over the past five months, an indication that companies are pulling back on investment in the expectation of lean times ahead.
Orders for computers and related equipment jumped 1.8 percent and orders for electrical equipment and appliances rose 0.8 percent.
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