WASHINGTON — New orders for manufactured durable goods jumped $7.5 billion to $207.0 billion, or 3.8%, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The gain was the largest since July when new orders rose 4.2%, and came after new orders were unchanged in October. Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.3%, and excluding military expenditures, they gained 3.7%.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had projected a median 2.0% increase in new orders for durable goods. They had estimated that durable goods excluding transportation would increase 0.4% in November.
Durable goods shipments, down two of the last three months, fell $800 million or 0.4% to $202.8 billion in November, following a revised 1.5% decrease in October.
Unfilled orders for durable goods, up 19 of the last 20 months, rose $11.1 billion or 1.3% to $898.1 billion, following a revised 0.3% increase in October. The November gain was the largest since September 2010 when unfilled orders were up 1.3%.
Inventories, up for 23 consecutive months, rose $2.0 billion or 0.6% to $368.8 billion, the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis. The savings rate dipped to 3.5% in November from 3.6% last month.
