Durable Goods Orders Rose 2% in March

New orders for durable goods rose 2% to $173.6 billion in March, led by an increase in demand for computers and military equipment, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

A rise in orders for durable goods, which are manufactured goods expected to last at least three years, will eventually increase the amount of goods produced by U.S. factories for shipment by truck.

Also Thursday, the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 455,000 for the week ended April 19. It was the highest level since the week ended March 30, 2002, and the 10th straight week claims held above the key 400,000 level, regarded by economists as a sign of an unhealthy labor market, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Commerce said this was only the third rise in durable orders in the past eight months. March’s increase followed a 1.5% decline the previous month.

Commerce also said excluding transportation equipment, orders rose 1.8%, the biggest increase since July, after falling 2.7% in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to fall 0.5%, Bloomberg News reported. Orders excluding transportation equipment were expected to rise 0.2%.

The ratio of inventories to sales, an indicator of how long goods sit unsold at the current sales pace, fell to 1.54 months from 1.55, Commerce said.

In another positive sign for the economy, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future investment, jumped 3.2% last month, Bloomberg News noted.

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