Orders for durable goods increased in March after a surge in orders for aircraft, the Commerce Department said today.
Durable goods orders rose 3.2% to $276.4 billion, the department said in a monthly report. That snapped a streak of two monthly declines, including a fall of 1.2% in February.
Excluding transportation, orders advanced 0.3%. Excluding defense, orders gained 3.5%.
The overall transportation equipment category increased 9.1% to $97.4 billion. It was the first monthly gain following two monthly declines.
Within transportation, orders for commercial aircraft and parts surged 78% to $19.7 billion. Orders for defense aircraft and parts rose 10% to $6.2 billion.
Boeing Co. said today it plans to boost the output of its 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner aircraft while it copes with manufacturing issues. Overall demand for air travel has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, within transportation, orders for motorized vehicles and parts slipped 0.1% to $61.5 billion. Demand for trucks and SUVs has remained strong and supplies of vehicles have improved following shortages of computer chips.
Among other categories, orders for machinery increased 0.1% to $38.1 billion. Orders for fabricated metal products rose 0.1% to $36.2 billion. Orders for primary metals gained 0.1% to $20.1 billion.
The report is based on a survey of about 3,100 companies.
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