The Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased by slightly less than expected in the month of April.
The report said factory orders rose by 0.4 percent in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in March.
Economists had expected factory orders to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.9 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.
The increase in factory orders came as orders for durable goods jumped by 1.1 percent in April after surging by 3.3 percent in March. Orders for transportation led the way higher, spiking by 3.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the report said orders for non-durable goods edged down by 0.1 percent in April after tumbling by 1.8 percent in March.
The Commerce Department also said shipments of manufactured goods fell by 0.4 percent in April following a 0.6 percent decrease in March.
At the same time, inventories of manufactured goods increased by 0.5 percent in April after sliding by 0.8 percent in the previous month.
With shipments falling and inventories climbing, the inventories-to-shipments ratio rose to 1.50 in April from 1.48 in March.
