Durable-Goods Orders Post 4th Consecutive Increase

WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to American factories for big-ticket durable goods rose 0.9 percent in September, pulled higher by demand for automobiles, communications equipment and military goods.

The unexpected fourth consecutive increase brought orders to a seasonally adjusted $192.1 billion, the Commerce Department said today. Economists had expected about a 1 percent drop, with world financial turmoil diminishing demand for U.S. products.

Instead, not only were last month's orders estimated to be rising, the August increase - 2 percent -- was revised up from a previous estimate of 1.7 percent.

The September report was buffeted by crosswinds from two highly volatile categories. Orders for defense goods, from ships to tanks, soared 44.9 percent, the largest rise in 10 months. Excluding that large jump, orders for everything else edged down 0.2 percent, the worst performance in four months.

That came largely because orders for aircraft plummeted 45.5 percent following a 50 percent increase a month earlier. Excluding transportation, orders rose 2.6 percent.

Orders for transportation equipment overall fell 4.4 percent. Drops in aircraft and railroad equipment more than offset gains in autos, ships and tanks.

Demand for electronic equipment also rose a brisk 5.4 percent, the third increase in four months, due mostly to communications equipment. Orders for industrial machinery jumped 4.4 percent.

However, orders for primary metals such as steel fell 2.3 percent, the fourth drop in five months.

Economists consider orders for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last three or more years, a key barometer of how busy U.S. factories will be in the months ahead.

Shipments of durable goods, a measure of current production, rose 1.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted $191.7 billion. It was the fourth consecutive increase.