Orders for Capital Goods Rose the Most in 3 Months

Bookings for goods like computers and communications equipment, excluding military hardware and aircraft, climbed 0.9 percent, the most since May, the report said. Demand for all factory goods declined 0.2 percent.

Faster growth in emerging economies helped sustain demand for American-made turbines and equipment even as households cut back.

Economists projected no change in total factory orders after a 2.1 percent increase, according to the median forecast of 68 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from a 1 percent drop to a 2.2 percent increase.

Industrial machinery, computers, aircraft and communications equipment bookings climbed in August, while orders for motor vehicles decreased, the report showed.

Orders for nonmilitary capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, increased after a revised 0.3 percent decrease in July.

Shipments of those items, used in calculating gross domestic product, increased 2.8 percent in August, the most in five months, after rising a revised 0.3 percent the previous month.

The report reflected a drop in orders at vehicle makers after supply disruptions caused by the earthquake in Japan in March. Bookings for motor vehicles and parts decreased 5.3 percent after the previous month’s 8.5 percent surge.

Even so, auto purchases picked up last month. General Motors, Chrysler, Ford and Nissan said Monday their sales rose more than estimated.

Orders for commercial airplanes rose 24 percent in August after surging 50 percent in July.

Demand for durable goods, which make up just more than half of total factory demand, fell 0.1 percent, the report showed.

Bookings of nondurable goods dropped 0.3 percent, reflecting a decrease in the value of petroleum products.

Factory inventories rose 0.4 percent in August, and manufacturers had enough goods on hand to last 1.34 months at the current sales pace, compared with 1.33 months in July.

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