The report said factory orders spiked by 4.3 percent in March after rising by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in February.

The substantial increase by factory orders came as orders for durable goods shot up by 9.2 percent in March after climbing by 0.8 percent in February.

Orders for transportation equipment led the way higher, soaring by 27.1 percent, as orders for non-defense aircraft and parts skyrocketed by 139.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said orders for non-durable goods dipped by 0.3 percent in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February.

The report also said shipments of manufactured goods edged down by 0.1 percent in March following a 0.7 percent increase in February.

Inventories of manufactured goods crept up by 0.1 percent in March, matching the uptick seen in the previous month.

With inventories and shipments both little changed, the inventories-to-shipments ratio was unchanged at 1.45 in March.

Powered by Commodity Insights