The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 3.4% to $165.6 billion in February, the biggest increase since December 2007, after a revised 7.3% plunge the prior month, previously reported as a 4.5% decline.
New orders excluding transportation rose 3.9% in February, the largest gain since August 2005, while civilian aircraft and parts dropped 28.9% after Boeing reported only four new aircraft orders in the month after 18 orders in January.
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, expanded 6.6% in February. The prior month was revised to an 11.3% drop, previously reported as a 5.7% decline.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected overall new orders to fall 2% in February, and orders excluding transportation to drop 2%.
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