WASHINGTON - New orders for manufacturers rose 2.4% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Excluding transportation, new orders were up 0.9%.
The July orders followed a revised decline of 0.4% in overall orders and a 0.4% rise in ex-transportation orders for June.
The median estimate of economists polled by Thomson Reuters was for a 1.9% increase in total orders, based principally on earlier reported large gains in aircraft and auto orders.
Outside transportation, the July report showed weakness in manufacturing similar to other surveys. The core non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft category fell 0.9% after a revised 0.8% rise in June.
Orders for industrial machinery were down 13.8%. Total capital goods orders rose 1.9%.
The ups and downs of the Boeing order book produced a 43.4% jump in non-defense aircraft following a 24.0% decline in June. Orders for motor vehicles were up 11.6% as the industry came off its supply-chain disruption.
Orders for primary metals were up 9.9%. Orders for computers and electronics fell 3.4% and fell 2.3% for electrical equipment and appliances.
Consumer goods orders rose 2.0% with a 7.3% increase in durables, again likely reflecting the increase for autos.
Orders for non-durable goods industries rose 1.0% after a 0.2% rise in June.
Total shipments were up 1.6%, unfilled orders rose 0.8% and inventories gained 0.5%.
