Durable Goods Orders Up 1.7% in Feb.; Ex-Transportation Rise 0.4%

WASHINGTON – The value of durable goods new orders rose 1.7% in February, slightly ahead of expectations for a 1.5% gain, as transportation orders jumped 4.3% and nontransportation orders posted another small gain, data released Friday showed.

New orders excluding transportation rose 0.4% in February, a smaller increase than the 0.7% gain expected. The nontransportation categories were generally higher, with gains in primary metals, machinery, computer products, and electrical equipment offset by declines in fabricated metals and communications equipment.

Nondefense aircraft orders surged 47.6% in the February, offsetting a 0.8% decline in motor vehicles orders and a 12.8% decline defense aircraft orders.

Transportation orders excluding motor vehicles and aircraft rose 2.4%, according to an MNI calculation, adding to the nondefense aircraft gain.

Nondefense capital goods new orders rose 4.1% due to a surge in civilian aircraft orders, but were down 0.1% excluding civilian aircraft.

Durable goods shipments rose 0.3% in February, with nondefense capital goods shipments down 0.1%, but up 1.0% excluding civilian aircraft shipments.

Durable goods inventories were up 0.2% in the month, while unfilled orders were flat.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.
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