Factory orders rose 3 percent in February

WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- Factory orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose 3 percent in February to the highest level since 1992, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

With orders up by $14.5 billion to $492 billion, the department's U.S. Census Bureau News said fresh business for factories was at the highest level since it adopted new accounting methods, making comparisons to earlier years difficult.

The department also revised its figure for January, reporting that new orders dropped 1 percent, not 2 percent as was previously reported.

Factory orders have risen two of the past three months.

Shipments, up five of the past six months, rose 0.9 percent to $489.3 billion, also the highest level since 1992. Factory inventories, rising for the third consecutive month, also hit a modern record, climbing 0.2 percent to $620 billion.

New orders for durable goods, which dropped 3.7 percent in January, increased 5.6 percent to $232.2 billion. Orders for big-ticket transportation items -- trucks, ship, planes and trains -- provided the biggest push in the increase, rising 21.8 percent or $13.3 billion to $74.5 billion.

New orders for non-durable goods, which are goods expected to last less than three years, also rose, climbing 0.8 percent to $259.8 billion.