Orders for manufactured goods rose 0.3% in September, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
The gain was in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.
The factory sector, which led the economy’s recovery from the pandemic, has started to struggle. But orders have risen eleven months of the past year.
Durable-goods orders rose 0.4% in September unrevised from the initial estimate.
Orders for nondurable goods were up 0.2% for the second straight month.
Orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft fell a revised 0.4% in September up from the initial estimate of a 0.7% drop. This is a key metric for economists. It is the first monthly drop since February.
