New orders for US manufactured goods rose in January after two straight months of declines, bolstered by a large monthly swing in aircraft orders, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Excluding the volatile transportation sector, however, the trend went in the opposite direction, with January seeing a decline of 0.2 percent rather than the expected increase.
President Donald Trump has put the manufacturing sector front-and-center in his jobs-focused political messaging, bringing intense focus to developments in the sector.
Orders for factory-made US goods rose 1.8 percent to $230.4 billion for the month, matching analyst expectations. Excluding defense articles, orders rose 1.5 percent.
January’s gains more than made up for the 0.8 percent decline recorded in December.
Orders for US civilian and defense aircraft and parts — big-ticket items that are subject to big swings — rose 69.9 percent and 59.9 percent respectively.
Orders for computers and communications equipment saw their largest decreases since 2015, with communications products falling five percent for the month to $3.8 billion.
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