U.S. durable goods orders climbed 2.8% in January, while excluding transportation orders grew 0.3%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 1.9% increase in orders and a 0.5% gain excluding transportation.
In December, orders fell a revised 3.7%, first reported as a 3.4% decrease, while excluding transportation sales slipped 0.9%, initially reported as a 0.8% drop.
Excluding defense orders grew 3.0% in January after a 3.3% plunge in December.