Orders for Durable Goods Rise 1.7% in July

rders for durable goods in the United States rose 1.7% in July, boosted by a surge in demand for passenger aircraft, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The increase in goods made to last at least three year to $195.6 billion followed a revised 1.1% gain in June. Excluding transportation equipment, orders rose 0.1% last month following a 0.3% drop in June.

An increase in orders for durable goods would likely increase the amount of goods produced by factories for shipment by truck.

Orders for transportation equipment rose 5.6% after rising 4.7% in June, Commerce said. Bookings for commercial aircraft increased 100.4%.

Commerce said orders for motor vehicles fell 5.3%, while machinery orders increased 2.1%.

Bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, increased 0.6%.