WASHINGTON -- Orders to American factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a third consecutive increase in December, closing out a record year for the nation's factories.
The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods rose by 1.3 percent in December to $228.1 billion as demand for military aircraft, machinery and autos all posted strong gains.
For all of 2005, orders increased by 8.2 percent to an all-time high of $2.51 trillion. Orders for durable goods had risen by 10 percent in 2004 and 4.2 percent in 2003 after posting declines in 2002 and 2001, the year the country was in recession.
In other economic news, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose to 283,000. That was up by 11,000 from the previous week. However, the four-week moving average for claims dropped to 288,750, the lowest level since July 2000.
The 1.3 percent increase in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, followed even stronger gains of 5.4 percent in November, a month when demand for commercial aircraft had soared, and 3.1 percent in October. |