Factory orders rise 1.8% in September
Orders reach $677.2 billion as transportation equipment leads the increase. August growth is revised higher.
New orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose 1.8% in September to $677.2 billion, a third consecutive monthly increase. August's gain was revised to 0.3% from 0.1%.
The increase exceeded the 1.2% gain economists had forecast in a Reuters poll. Transportation equipment orders rose 4.6% to $119.9 billion, contributing nearly half of the dollar increase. Orders excluding transportation grew 1.3%.
Factory shipments increased 1.3% to $668.5 billion. Unfilled orders rose 0.9%, while inventories increased 0.4% to $976 billion, their twelfth consecutive monthly gain.
Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business equipment spending plans, increased 0.6%. Shipments in that category rose 1.2%.
The release adds a manufacturing reading to today's September job-openings report. Orders measure bookings, while shipments track goods sent to customers; the two readings describe different stages of factory activity.
