Durable Orders Up 3%

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Demand for new, long-lasting, manufactured goods rose more-than-expected last month, largely fueled by a spike in orders for non-military aircraft and parts.

New orders for durable goods rose 3% in January to $175.7 billion, according to a Commerce Department report released Thursday. The jump appears to echo much of the recently improving statistics coming from the manufacturing sector. Street analysts had expected a mere 1.5% rise, according to consensus estimates provided by Briefing.com. The January effort also outpaced December's showing, when orders rose 1.9%.

But after stripping out a 15.6% jump in transportation-related orders, which itself was lifted largely by a 126% surge in orders for civilian planes and a 11.6% rise in military aircraft, overall new orders showed a 0.6% decline. That showing fell far short of forecasts calling for a 1% uptick ex-transportation during the month.

Excluding orders for defense-related items showed overall orders rose by 1.6%.

Shipments across the board fell by 0.2%.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York

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