Durable goods orders soar

Factory orders for durable goods rose in December by the largest amount in five months—5.2 percent.

The increase was far larger than had been expected. Commercial aircraft orders experienced a big gain, but even excluding the transportation sector, orders achieved a 2.6 percent gain.

December saw an 11.3 percent rise in demand for transportation products that reflected an 11.3 percent jump in orders for commercial aircraft, which offset a 2.3 percent decline in auto and auto parts demand.

Non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose by 4.4 percent in December, the first increase in this category since September, and the biggest increase since last March.

Although the December news was very positive, orders for 2007 rose by just 0.97 percent, following increases of 6.31 percent in 2006 and 9.45 percent in 2005. The 2007 showing was the poorest since 2002, when orders fell by 3.17 percent for the year.