Orders have risen in four of the past five months, U.S. data show By Greg Robb, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- New orders for U.S.-made capital goods increased a strong 2.9% in April, marking the fourth increase in the past five months, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Orders were boosted by robust demand for civilian aircraft. But excluding the volatile transportation sector, April's orders were down 1.0%, the first drop in three months. As for March, data on orders for durables were revised to show virtually no change, an improvement compared with a 0.6% decline previously estimated. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for a 2.5% gain in durable-goods orders overall for April. See MarketWatch economic calendar. Durable goods are big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. As such, new orders are very sensitive to economic expectations and serve as a useful leading indicator for tracking growth. Durable-goods orders have been on a clear upward trend since hitting a bottom in March 2009. With the U.S. economy on the mend, orders are up 16.8% on a year-on-year basis. Away from the sharp increase in orders for civilian airplanes, April's data showed orders for core capital equipment goods -- the best monthly gauge of business investment -- fell 2.4%, a reversal after a 6.5% gain in March. Read full report. Meanwhile, April's shipments of durable goods rose a healthy 1.4% following a 2.1% gain in March. Computers and electronic products had the largest increase -- 8.1%. Shipments of core capital equipment, a piece of data that gets factored directly into calculations of gross domestic product, increased 0.2% in April. Inventories rose 0.7% in April, for the fourth straight monthly gain. Unfilled orders -- a sign of future production -- rose 0.4% after having fallen 0.1% in March. Details of the April report Orders for primary metals fell 2.0% after a gain of 3.6%. Shipments fell 0.2% after rising 5.8%. Orders for fabricated metals rose 0.6% after a 1.5% rise in March. Shipments rose 1.1% after a 1.5% gain. Orders for electrical equipment fell 6.9% after a 13.7% gain. Shipments rose 1.9% after 3.0%. Orders for machinery fell 5.9% after growing 10.5% in March. Shipments fell 3.0% after rising 4.1%. Orders for transportation goods rose 16.1% after falling 13.1%. Shipments rose 0.2% after gaining by 2.6%.

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