WASHINGTON, (MILLAT/APP/AFP) – Orders for manufactured big-ticket
products continued to rise in February, boosted by strong civilian aircraft sales, the US Commerce Department reported Friday.
Aircraft sales, which can cause large swings in the data, were not
the only story, however, as orders excluding the volatile transportation category have now risen for six consecutive months.
President Donald Trump has spotlighted the US manufacturing sector in
his jobs-focused economic agenda, although Friday’s data was further indication the sector was already recovering.
Durable goods orders rose a strong 1.7 percent to $235.4 billion last
month, well above an analyst forecast for a gain of 1.3 percent. The monthly
increase was slower than January’s upwardly-revised 2.3 percent jump.
The gain in February was led in large part by a 47.6 percent pop in
orders for civilian aircraft, which followed an 83.3 percent jump in the prior month, showing how the high-priced planes can swing the numbers dramatically from one month to the next.
Aircraft maker Boeing booked 43 orders for civilian aircraft over the
month, a large upswing from January, when it booked only 11, according to Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Excluding the transportation sector, durable goods orders rose 0.4
percent, the sixth consecutive monthly gain.
Outside the defense sector, orders rose 2.1 percent, the third
consecutive monthly increase.
Orders for capital goods — such as machinery and equipment — rose
2.6 percent. The gradual rise in oil prices since late summer helped drive a
recovery in capital expenditures, which began a sharp decline in late 2014,
dragging on GDP growth.
The defense sector weighed on the overall results, with military
aircraft orders down 12.8 percent and defense capital goods down 8.3 percent. Communications equipment also fell 3.8 percent for the month.