US factory orders rose 1.7 per cent in September led by aircraft orders, ending two months of declines, the Commerce Department says.
The increase was totally due to transportation equipment, which rose 12.9 per cent. Commercial aircraft orders soared 57.7 per cent and orders for ships and boats rose 29 per cent.
Orders for motor vehicles and equipment fell 0.7 per cent.
Excluding transportation, factory orders last month fell 0.2 per cent from August.
It was the first gain for factory orders in three months.
Reporting data that had been delayed by the October 1-16 government shutdown, the department said factory orders dipped 0.1 per cent in August, and July's decline was revised up to 2.8 per cent, from the prior estimate of 2.4 per cent.
"September's factory orders report indicates that business investment is still slowing, but manufacturing still has pockets of strength," said Tyler Case of Moody's Analytics.
Case pointed to backlogs of orders in construction machinery; heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment; and household appliances, suggesting that manufacturers of homebuilding-related items may need to ramp up to accommodate demand.
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