New factory orders for manufactured goods jumped 1.4% in February, the Commerce Department said Friday.
The factory order increase, to $432.314 billion, was larger than the 0.3% increase projected by IFR Markets and came after a revised 0.9% decrease to $426.408 billion in February, originally reported as a 1.3% decrease to $424.416 billion.
Excluding transportation, the level of all new manufacturing orders rose 2.2% to about $370.4 billion in March following a 1.8% drop in January to $361.3 billion. The increase compared to a 2.0% increase projected by IFR.
Excluding the military, new orders grew 1.4% to $419.5 billion, following a 1.1% decrease to $413.8 billion in February.
New orders for durable goods increased 0.1% to $212.7 billion in March, and orders for nondurable goods jumped 2.6% to $218.6 billion.
Inventories increased 0.9% to $544.3 billion, while the inventory to shipment ratio held at 1.27.
