Orders for Durable Goods Rise at Fastest Pace in 42 Months
Orders to U.S. factories for durable goods advanced in June at the fastest pace in 42 months, an 8.8 percent increase that was propelled by heavy demand for commercial aircraft, the government said yesterday.</br></br>The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods-considered to be items that will last at least three years-totaled $125.23 billion last month, $10.14 billion higher than the May total.</br></br>The June increase, which followed a 1.9 percent decline in May, was the biggest advance since an 8.9 percent jump in December 1985. It provided further evidence of the strength in U.S. manufacturing, analysts said.</br></br>"Stripping the fluff away, we are still left with a strong pace of activity in the durable goods sector," said Allen Sinai, chief economist of The Boston Co.</br></br>U.S. manufacturing was in a virtual recession for two years beginning in mid-1984 as the soaring value of the dollar attracted a flood of imports into the country and made American goods uncompetitive on overseas markets.