Durable Goods Orders Rise 1.4% in June

.S. orders for durable goods rose 1.4% in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Orders of goods made to last at least three years increased to $215.4 billion, Commerce said.

The gain followed a revised 6.4% gain in May that was originally reported at a 5.5% increase. The revised figure was the biggest since an 8.1% surge in July 2002.

Trucking is a major beneficiary of durable goods manufacturing, hauling both components and finished goods.

Excluding transportation orders, June bookings rose 2.6%, the biggest jump this year. Economists had predicted a 1% rise, following a 0.9% gain in May, Bloomberg said.

The orders were led by transportation bookings, which jumped 21.2%, the most since July 2002. Motor vehicle orders rose 0.2% and aircraft orders surged 165%, Commerce said.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, rose 3.8% after a 0.6% drop in May, which had been the biggest drop since October.

Machinery orders rose 3.7%, the most this year, after a 1.1% drop in May. Orders for computers and electronic products jumped 8.6%, the most since September, following a 1.5% increase.

Durable goods inventories fell 0.3% after rising 0.1% a month earlier. Unfilled orders, a gauge of future production, rose 2.6% following a 2.1% rise.