By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for U.S.-made durable-goods rose 3.3% in September, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. This is the largest increase since January. The increase in durable-goods orders exceeded the expected 2.5% rise forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Orders in August were revised higher to a drop of 1% compared with the prior estimate of a 1.5% decline. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.8% in September, the second decline in the last three months. Core durable-goods orders, which are orders for capital goods excluding defense and aircraft, fell 0.6% in September after a 4.8% rise in August. Shipments fell 0.4% in September, and were down 0.4% excluding transportation goods. Inventories rose 0.5%.
