Manufacturing Up 2.5% on Aircraft Orders

A surge in demand for aircraft more than offset a decline in other sectors and powered a 2.5% increase in orders to American factories in November. The overall gain to a seasonally adjusted $345.1 billion, the sixth consecutive monthly increase, was the largest in 14 months, the Commerce Department said. Transportation orders alone surged 21%, the largest gain since July 1991, on a doubling in demand for aircraft and parts. Excluding transportation and defense orders, orders for capital goods--such as factory machinery used to make other goods--fell 1.5%.