Durable Goods Orders Up 0.6%

Washington, DC, May 24, 2007--Durable goods orders rose 0.6% in April, according to a report from the Commerce Department report. It was the third straight monthly increase.

Economists were expecting no change in April numbers.

Orders in March rose a revised 5%, a six-month high, compared with a 3.7% estimate previously.

Orders for transportation equipment fell 1.3 percent after a 13.6 percent rise in March. April non-defense aircraft orders fell 10.7 percent after a 53.6 percent rise in March, while motor vehicle and parts orders fell 1.9 percent after rising 2.7 percent in March

Stripping out the transportation goods, durable goods orders rose 1.5 percent in April, the same pace as in March after a small upward revision. Economists had forecast that durables orders excluding transportation would rise 0.6 percent in April.

Durable goods orders excluding defense rose 0.6 percent after an upwardly revised 5.2 percent gain in March. Economists had expected a rise of 0.8 percent.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, seen by economists as a proxy for business investment, rose 1.2 percent in April after a downwardly revised 4.4 percent increase in March. Analysts had predicted a 0.8 percent rise.