Reflecting a jump in orders for commercial aircraft, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased by the most in six months in April.
The Commerce Department said factory orders surged up by 1.9 percent in April after climbing by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March. The continued increase in orders matched economist estimates.
The jump in factory orders reflected a notable increase in durable goods orders, which shot up by 3.4 percent in April following a 2.0 percent increase in March.
Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the increase in durable goods orders, soaring by 65.3 percent in April after falling by 2.0 percent in March.
The report also said orders for non-durable goods edged up by 0.4 percent in April after jumping by 1.4 percent in the previous month.
Shipments of manufactured goods also increased by 0.5 percent in April after rising 0.3 percent in March, while inventories of manufactured inched up by 0.1 percent after edging down by 0.1 percent.
The inventories-to-shipments ratio subsequently came in at 1.36 in April, down from 1.37 in the previous month.
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