Booming orders for new military aircraft boosted overall orders to US factories by 0.5 per cent to a seasonally adjusted $371.51 billion in October, the government reported today.
The October increase exceeded Wall Street economists' forecasts for a smaller 0.3 per cent gain. It followed a flat performance for orders in September, though that was an upward revision from a previously reported 0.4 per cent orders drop.
The war in Iraq appeared to be a significant factor in October, as defence capital goods orders jumped 18.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted $12.67 billion on top of an even larger 27.5 per cent surge in September.
Excluding defence goods, factory orders were flat in October after declining 0.6 per cent in September. Military aircraft orders shot ahead 35.3 per cent to $3.26 billion in October after falling 13.4 per cent in September.
Shipments of finished goods, a gauge of how busy factories are at the moment, gained 1.2 per cent in October to $375.93 billion, a revival from September when they dropped 1.1 per cent.