Orders for US durable goods fell 0.5% in April, reversing March's strong surge mainly on the back of falling aircraft orders, the Commerce Department said today.
But with volatile transport orders stripped out, durable goods orders picked up 0.5% in April, the second gain in a row after the winter's chill on the US economy.
Overall orders for durable goods were estimated at $235.5 billion for the month, down slightly less than $1.2 billion from March.
The underlying details showed promise - orders for machinery and other non-defence-related capital good were strong, rising 1% in the month.
The rise suggested that US and other manufacturers were growing optimistic about growth.
For the year to date, new orders in the US were down 1.3% from 2014, with a key part of the reason slower economic growth abroad that has dampened export orders.
Today's figures show that non-defence aircraft orders during the first four months of the year are down 16.7% from a year ago.
By comparison, the largest category in durable goods - cars - were up 8.7% in the first four months from a year ago.
