New orders for durable goods were up in April over March levels by 1.2%. Compared to April 2012's level, new orders for durable goods were 2.6% higher.
Moderate growth in new orders was largely broad-based across industries in April, with the exception of transportation equipment, which jumped 8.1% compared to March levels. New orders for communications equipment in April were 5.7% above their March levels. Machinery industries also reported 1.9% more new orders than in the month prior.
Additional detail:
- Computers and related products was the only industrial category to post a decline in new orders from March to April, losing 3.7%, after losing 0.2% in March. Notably, however, these two months followed a surge in new orders for computers and related products in February, when new orders surged 9.0%.
- Excluded from the core capital goods series due to their erratic volatility, new orders for nondefense aircraft and parts rose 18.1% from March to April, while defense aircraft and parts surged 53.3%. Other new orders for defense capital goods surged 31.3% in April, following a 38.3% decline in March.