Durable Goods Orders Up

New orders for manufactured durable goods in February increased 2.5% to $183.8 billion, according to a report released by the Dept. of Commerce today. The growth was propelled by booming orders of high-priced aerospace equipment.

New orders for defense aircraft leapt 61.1% to $3.8 billion over January while nondefense aircraft jumped 33.8% to $5.5 billion. Transportation equipment saw an overall 9.9% increase to $54.4 billion.

Shipments of manufactured durable goods were up 0.8% to $187.6 billion, which follows a 1% January decrease. Transportation equipment was a major factor, posting a 6.4% increase to $54.9 billion. Defense aircraft shipments surged 35.8% to $4.8 billion. Motor vehicles and parts increased by $1.5 billion to $38.5 billion.

These are preliminary figures and subject to revision.