U.S. Durable Goods Orders Spike Much More Than Expected As Aircraft Demand Soars

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in the month of March amid a spike by orders for transportation equipment.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders shot up by 9.2 percent in March after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.9 percent in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 2.0 percent compared to the 1.0 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.

"Companies are front running the tariffs, so these durable goods data aren't something to get excited about," said Jamie Cox, Managing Partner for Harris Financial Group. "The good news is that companies are protecting their earnings and margins, and investors will be happy about that."

The much bigger than expected increase by durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment soared by 27.0 percent in March after jumping by 1.2 percent in February.

Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way higher, skyrocketing by 139.0 percent in March after tumbling by 7.4 percent in February.

Excluding the spike by orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders were virtually unchanged in March after rising by 0.7 percent in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

The report showed increases in orders for primary metals, fabricated metal products and machinery were offset by decreases in orders for computers and electronic products and electrical equipment, appliances and components.

The Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, crept up by 0.1 percent in March after falling by 0.3 percent in February.

Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, rose by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by 0.7 percent in February.