U.S. durable goods orders surged 2.6% in March, while excluding transportation orders jumped 2.0%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 2.0% increase in orders and a 0.6% rise excluding transportation.
In February, orders rose a revised 2.1%, first reported as a 2.2% increase, while excluding transportation sales gained 0.1%, initially reported as a 0.2% rise.
Excluding defense orders rose 1.8% in March after a 1.8% gain in February.
Transportation equipment orders increased 4.0% in the month.
