Washington, DC, Feb. 27--Orders to U.S. factories for big ticket goods jumped by 3.3% in January, the best showing in six months. The increase in orders for durable goods came after two straight months of declines, according to the Commerce Department. Orders fell by 1.2% in November and 0.4% in December.
The 3.3% increase in orders in January from the previous month was better than the 1% advance economists were predicting and marked the strongest performance since July.
The manufacturing sector has been the biggest drag on the economy's struggle to get back to full throttle. But the report, along with other recent data on manufacturing activity, offered hope that the sector may be seeing better days ahead.
The economy has been coping with uneven growth, and businesses have been struggling to try and gauge demand for their goods.
The biggest factor holding back the economy's recovery is the reluctance of businesses to make big commitments in hiring and in capital spending, due in part to uneasiness about war and an uncertain business environment.
Orders for transportation products rose 5.1% in January, an improvement over December's 3.5% decline. Orders for automobiles jumped 10.7%, the largest increase since April, and a turnaround from the 5.9% drop posted in December.
Excluding orders for transportation products, durable goods orders went up 2.5% in January, the best showing since July.
Orders for computers went up 1.5% in January, down from a 10.4% advance registered in December. For communications equipment, orders soared 46.1%, erasing a 15.8% decline in December. Orders for electrical equipment and appliances increased 0.8% in January, after being flat the month before.
For machinery, orders rose 5.3%, after dropping 1%. Orders for primary metals, including steel, grew 4.2%, after a 2.6% rise the month before.
