U.S. Factory Orders Jump Much More Than Expected In October

Reflecting a sharp increase in orders for non-durable goods, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods jumped much more than expected in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said factory orders surged up by 1.0 percent in October after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in September.

Economists had expected factory orders to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The stronger than expected growth came as orders for non-durable goods shot up by 2.4 percent in October after jumping by 1.3 percent in September.

The spike in non-durable goods orders more than offset a decrease in durable goods orders, which fell by 0.4 percent for the second consecutive month amid a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment.

The report also showed shipments of manufactured goods soared by 2.0 percent in October following a 1.0 percent advance in September.

Inventories of manufactured goods also increased by 0.8 percent in October after jumping by 1.0 percent in the previous month.

With shipments climbing more than inventories, the inventories-to-shipments ratio dropped to 1.46 in October from 1.48 in September.