Durable Goods Jump 4.3% on Orders From Military

Orders to U.S. factories for “big ticket” durable manufacturing goods jumped 4.3% last month in the biggest increase since 1984, the government reported today.

Military orders, a historically volatile category, accounted for much of the gain, according to the figures from the Commerce Department.

However, there were also healthy gains for non-defense orders--a possible sign of revival for the sluggish national economy.

There have been few such optimistic signs in the last half-year, and the government reported earlier this week that the overall economy grew at a barely discernible 0.6% annual rate in the spring quarter of the year.

Last month, the new report said, orders for durable goods, those expected to last three years or longer, totaled $107.2 billion after adjustment for seasonal variation.

The increase followed a June gain of 0.1%, preceded by three straight declines.

Military orders, including big orders for aircraft, soared 46.6% to a July total of $10.6 billion, accounting for about three-fourths of the overall gain.

Still, all non-military orders were up 1.1%, about the same as their 1.4% increase in June.

And orders for non-defense capital goods, which are closely watched for signals of industry plans to expand production, rose 3.8% after gaining 1.1% in June.

The overall durable goods orders increase was the largest in one month since the 8.2% gain of November, 1984, the report said.