Durable goods orders jump much higher than expected

Orders for big-ticket items rose 1.6% in January

U.S. durable goods orders rose well beyond what analysts expected month-over-month in January, marking the fourth straight month of increases for orders of big-ticket items as supply chain troubles ease.

washing machines

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. washing machines stand on display for sale at the Airport Home Appliance store in San Jose, California. The U.S. Census Bureau released its report on durable goods orders on Feb. 25. Photographer: David (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The U.S. Census Bureau's latest data released Friday showed new orders for manufactured durable goods jumped $4.3 billion, or 1.6%, to $277.5 billion, double the expectations of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv who anticipated a 0.8% rise.

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Excluding transportation, new orders were up 0.7%, beating analysts' estimates of 0.4%.

durable goods

A worker operates a fork lift to move bulk rolled steel at the Liberty Safe & Security Products Inc. manufacturing facility in Payson, Utah (Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Revised numbers from December showed a 1.2% increase in durable goods orders for items like computers, washing machines, and other equipment expected to last more than three years, after last month's report showed a decrease of 0.7%.

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Friday's report indicated that a surge in transportation equipment, now up three months in a row, led the increase with a 3.4% surge of $2.9 billion, totaling $87.6 billion in January.

durable goods

A worker welds a custom built aluminum body frame for a Venice roadster model vehicle at the Vanderhall Motor Works Inc. manufacturing facility in Provo, Utah. (Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Shipments of durable goods have risen eight of the last nine months, up 1.2% to $270.4 billion last month after a 1.3% increase in December. The increase in January was led by shipments of machinery, which have climbed 10 of the last 11 months.