New orders for durable goods up in August
September 28, 2005
According to figures released Wednesday by the US Commerce Department, new orders for durable goods were up by 3.3 percent in August after a drop of 5.3 percent in July.
While orders were expected to go up in August, the rebound was much better than the 0.8 percent rise that had been expected.
This news eases worries that the US manufacturing sector was heading for a slump, especially since the gains came in several key sectors.
There was a gain of 1.4 percent in orders for motor vehicles and airplanes, with an 0.8 percent rise in orders for motor vehicles and parts, a gain of 9.4 percent in orders for commercial aircraft, and a 15 percent rise in orders for military aircraft.
In other sectors, orders for computers and other electronics went up by 5.5 percent, primary metals orders such as steel rose 9.2 percent, and orders for machinery grew by 3.5 percent.
Total orders for manufactured goods were up by a seasonally-adjusted $6.8 billion to $210.9 billion. Shipments of durable goods, a measure of current demand, were up by 1.7 percent to $208.5 billion in August.