(RTTNews) - With orders for transportation equipment showing a substantial increase, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by more than expected in the month of March.
The report said durable goods orders soared by 2.6 percent in March after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in February.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to spike by 2.3 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders crept up by 0.2 percent in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
