Durable goods orders increased in June assisted by a gain in aircraft orders, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today.
Orders totaled $257.6 billion, a gain of 0.8 percent from May, according to a monthly report. It was the 13th increase in the past 14 months and follows a rise of 3.2 percent in May.
The overall transportation equipment category rose 2.1 percent to $77.5 billion last month. It was the second consecutive monthly increase for the segment. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders increased 0.3 percent. Excluding defense, orders rose 1 percent.
Within transportation, orders for commercial aircraft and parts surged 17 percent to $16.1 billion. The industry has benefited from a recovery in demand for air travel. The COVID-19 pandemic slammed such demand, causing airlines to cancel orders for planes.
Orders for defense aircraft and parts posted an increase of 9.9 percent to $3.5 billion.
However, one part of transportation had a decline in orders. Motor vehicles and parts orders slipped 0.3 percent to $49.8 billion. The auto industry has been coping with a global shortage of semiconductors. That has caused automakers to reduce output of vehicles.
In other categories, orders for machinery rose 0.6 percent to $36.8 billion in June. Orders for primary metals increased 0.4 percent to $23.9 billion. Orders for fabricated metal products declined 0.8 percent to $35.6 billion.
The report is based on a survey of about 3,100 companies.
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