Reflecting a surge in orders for durable goods, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods jumped by more than expected in the month of September.
The Commerce Department said factory orders shot up by 2.8 percent after climbing by a downwardly revised 1.0 percent in August.
Economists had expected factory orders to jump by 2.3 percent compared to the 1.2 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.
The surge in factory orders came as durable goods orders spiked by 4.6 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. Orders for transportation equipment led the way higher, soaring by 12.7 percent.
The report said orders for non-durable goods also increased by 1.0 percent in September after surging by 2.2 percent in August.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said shipments of manufactured goods rose by 0.4 percent in September after jumping by 1.4 percent in August.
Inventories of manufactured goods also crept up by 0.2 percent in September after rising by 0.3 percent in the previous month.
With shipments and inventories both showing modest increases, the inventories-to-shipment was unchanged at 1.46.
