WASHINGTON — Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rebounded in June after a May decline, helped by a recovery in demand in a key category that signals business investment plans. Orders for durable goods increased $1.8 billion or 0.7% in June to $239.9 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis following a 1% decline in May, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.8 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.7 percent. Machinery, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $0.9 billion or 2.4 percent to $37.3 billion.
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in June, up fourteen of the last fifteen months, increased $8.7 billion or 0.8% to $1,096.8 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.7% May increase.
Transportation equipment, up nine of the last ten months, led the increase, $4.9 billion or 0.7 percent to $681.0 billion.
A category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans rose a solid 1.4%, recovering after a revised 1.2% drop in May. It was the best showing since orders in this core capital goods category rose 4.7% in March. The strength last month came from solid gains in demand for commercial aircraft and machinery. Analysts expect economic activity will strengthen in the second half of the year, helped by stronger factory production.