Orders to US factories for durable goods jumped 3.5 per cent in November after October decline

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FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013, file photo, Robert McCormick, 23, whose car is not big enough for a 60-inch HDTV he purchased from a Kmart store, talks on the phone while waiting for his father-in-law to bring his pickup truck in Anaheim, Calif. The Commerce Department releases the report on durable goods for November, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

WASHINGTON – Businesses stepped up their orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in November. And a key category that signals business investment plans climbed at the fastest pace in 10 months.

The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods jumped 3.5 per cent in November compared with October, when orders had fallen 0.7 per cent. The increase was led by a 21.8 per cent jump in demand for commercial aircraft, which can be volatile.

Core capital goods, a category that tracks business investment, rose 4.5 per cent, the biggest gain since January. This category is seen as a gauge of business plans to expand and modernize and as a measure of business confidence.

Various barometers have signalled strength in manufacturing, which should translate into support for the overall economy going into 2014.

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