U.S. Durable Goods Orders Edge Up In October

WASHINGTON - A surge in demand for electronic equipment boosted orders for costly manufactured items in October, the Commerce Department said today, offsetting widespread weakness in orders for most other goods.

Total new orders gained 0.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted $174.2 billion, following a revised 4.6 percent increase in September.

The slim rise was contrary to Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 2 percent drop in October orders and was entirely due to a record jump in orders for electronic and communications equipment.

New orders for electronic equipment shot up 17.3 percent to $31.3 billion during October after a 0.2 percent rise in September. Department officials said the category includes products like telephone and telegraph equipment as well as radio and television products.

Orders for transportation equipment dropped in October by 7.9 percent to $41.1 billion following a 0.2 percent rise in September. The department said all component transportation industries, including aircraft producers and automakers, posted lower orders.

Excluding transportation, durable goods orders were up in October by 2.9 percent following a 0.4 percent increase in September.

Analysts had predicted a drop in overall durables orders during October in part because of production disruptions in the auto industry.

A strike by Canadian auto workers at General Motors Corp. plants in Canada last month slowed the flow of parts to the United States and shut some domestic plants before all the issues were eventually resolved and normal production resumed.

After surging in September, aircraft orders slumped in October.

Previously, the department estimated September durables orders had increased by 4.9 percent but it revised that downward.

Orders for durable goods, items like cars and home appliances that are intended to last at least three years, are an indicator of the manufacturing sector's vigor, which in turn weighs heavily on the overall economy.

Orders for defense goods, which experience wide monthly swings, dropped 8.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted $4.8 billion after a 7.4 percent increase in September.

Orders for non-defense capital goods, an indication of business investment in new equipment, declined 0.6 percent to $47.2 billion last month after increasing 15.4 percent in September.

Shipments of durable goods, an indication of current demand, declined 1.2 percent in October after rising 1.3 percent in September.

Unfilled orders rose 1.1 percent after rising 0.7 percent in September.

Orders for industrial machinery, which includes computers, decreased by 2.3 percent in October to $31.5 billion after a drop of 0.2 percent in September.

Primary metals orders were down 0.7 percent to $14.6 billion after falling 3.1 percent in September.

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