New orders for manufactured durable goods rose 4.6% to $230.7 billion in November, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The increase followed an unrevised advance of 0.7% in November.
Excluding transportation, November new orders rose 1.3%. Excluding defense, they ticked up 1.2%.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had projected that durable goods orders would rise 1.8%. The economists projected a 0.7% rise for new orders excluding transportation.
Durable goods shipments increased $2.9 billion or 1.3% to $230.6 billion in December. The decline followed a 1.8% rise in November.
Unfilled orders for durable goods rose $8.2 billion or 0.8% to $992.0 billion.