Factory Orders Rise 1.5% in October

The number of orders places with U.S. factories rose 1.5% in October, the first increase in three months, according to the Commerce Department.

It was just one of three pieces of positive news the economy received from the federal government and an economic group Wednesday. Being sensitive to economic conditions, positive signs for the recovery are good news for trucking.

The Labor Department revised its third-quarter productivity report upward to an increase of 5.1%. Increases in productivity have been a stalwart of not just the economic recovery, but the rapid expansion of the 1990s, analysts said.

The Institute for Supply Management said that the services sector grew for the 10th straight month as its non-manufacturing index grew to 57.4 from 53.1 in November. Readings of ISM indices over 50 indicate expansion in a sector. The manufacturing index showed a contraction on Monday.

The factory orders report showed that overall orders were $322.6 billion in the 10th month of the year. The increase followed a revised decline of 2.4% in September.

If orders for transportation equipment are discounted, orders rose 1.1% in October, building on a 0.2% gain during the previous month.

Productivity was said to be 5.6% higher in the third quarter, the largest year-over-year improvement since the first quarter of 1973, Labor said.