P.M. BRIEFING : Factory Orders Rise .7% in March
From Times wire services
WASHINGTON —
Orders received by American factories, a measure of the health of the industrial sector, rose a modest 0.7% in March, mainly because of a jump in aircraft orders, the Commerce Department said today.
Excluding aircraft and other transportation equipment, orders fell 0.9% in March, and excluding defense-related orders, they fell 0.3%, the department said.
The overall March increase, which followed declines of 2.0% in February and 1.2% in January, left the value of factory orders at a seasonally adjusted $232.92 billion.
Although transportation and military orders rose in March, there were declines in most other categories, especially for durable goods, manufactured items designed to last at least three years.
