According to a report released by the Commerce Department, new orders for U.S. manufactured goods saw a significant rise, aligning with economic predictions for the month of March.
In specific, the Commerce Department reported a 1.6% surge in factory orders in March, following a slightly adjusted 1.2% increase recorded in February. This rise in factory orders echoed economists' estimations and was in line with the 1.4% initially reported for the month prior.
This noticeable increase in factory orders can be attributed to a significant boost in durable goods orders, which saw a 2.6% increase in March, compared to a 0.7% rise in February. Orders for transportation equipment played a key role in driving this progression, with a whopping 7.8% soar.
The report also indicated a 0.6% rise in orders for non-durable goods in March, following a 1.7% increase in February. In addition, there was a 0.3% uplift in March for shipments of manufactured goods, after a solid 1.4% rise in February.
In contrast, figures related to the inventories of manufactured goods remained almost the same in March, following a modest 0.2% growth recorded in February. This led to an inventories-to-shipments ratio of 1.47 in March, showing no change from the month before.