WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- U.S. factories indicated business orders rose for the third month out of the past four in May, the Department of Commerce said Tuesday.
Factory orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose 2.1 percent in the month to $485 billion after rising by 1.3 percent in April, a figure upwardly revised from a month earlier.
Fresh orders in May rose by $9.9 billion, the Census Bureau News said.
For May, transportation orders -- a category that includes big-ticket items, such as planes, trains and ships -- led the advance, rising 10.9 percent or by $7.3 billion to $74.5 billion.
Without transportation orders, factory orders, which were off a month earlier, rose by 0.6 percent, a sign that transportation orders are not carrying the entire increase.
Orders for durable goods in May, also up for three of the past four months, rose by $8.2 billion or 3.7 percent to $231.2 billion, the bureau said.
New orders for non-durable goods, which were down in April, rose by 0.7 percent or $1.8 billion to $253.8 billion.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods, up for four of the past five months, rose by 0.1 percent or $400 million to $377.7 billion, reaching the highest level since 1992.
Factories shipments also rose, climbing by $2.8 billion or 1.3 percent to $229.8 billion.
