Civilian aircraft orders nearly doubled and thus caused new orders for manufactured goods rise for a fourth consecutive month, the Commerce Department reported on December 6.
Orders rose a solid 2.7% to $469.4 billion, considerably faster than the pace of the prior two months and surpassing an analyst consensus forecast, which had called for a 2.5% increase.
For the first 10 months of the year, however, orders were 2% lower than the same period in 2015.
Excluding the defense sector, however, the October increase would have been an even higher 2.9%. But without the transportation sector, which has also risen four months in a row, the increase would have been only 0.8%.
Orders for civilian aircraft and parts jumped 93.8% to $21.8 billion, reflecting in part the Boeing deal to sell 14 freighters to shipping giant UPS.
But mining and oilfield machinery sank 15% to $792 million, reflecting the recent slump in new oilfield activity on sharply reduced crude prices.
Orders for cars, parts and trailers fell 0.7% to $28.8 billion but defense aircraft orders saw a sharp 32.5% increase to $3.7 billion.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2016
