The Commerce Department said Friday that orders for durable goods jumped 4.4 percent in November, the biggest increase in six months, propelled by a surge in demand for aircraft.
Orders for expensive items made to last at least several years increased the most since May, to $223 billion, after rising a revised 3 percent in October.
But excluding transportation equipment, orders dropped 0.6 percent last month, a third straight decline. Orders unexpectedly fell as defense and auto bookings dropped.
Companies are moving slowly to replace depleted inventories, worried that still-high energy prices will cut consumer purchases in coming months. A pick-up in investment will help the economy overcome a likely slowdown in consumer spending this quarter, economists said.
“The momentum is there, but it’s sporadic,” said Gerald Zukowski, deputy chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. “There is no doubt that investment spending continues to move higher.”
Orders for transportation equipment surged 15.6 percent. Bookings for motor vehicles dropped 5.7 percent, the most since July 2004, but aircraft orders surged 134 percent after jumping 52 percent in October. Chicago-based Boeing Co. received orders for 148 planes in November compared with 36 a month earlier, according to company figures.
Machinery orders decreased 1.6 percent last month. Orders for computers and electronic products rose 0.7 percent, and bookings for communications equipment orders fell 4.4 percent.
Orders for defense hardware dropped 27 percent in November, the most since October 2002, following a 45 percent increase in October.
Also Friday, the University of Michigan said its final index of consumer sentiment rose to 91.5 this month from 81.6 in November and a preliminary December reading of 88.7. The jump from November was the biggest since January 2004.
“Consumers are more optimistic during this holiday season, and retailers hope this means that they will hear the ringing of cash registers in what has been a lackluster sales period so far,” said Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. in New York. “This augurs well for a continued expansion of the economy next year.”
