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Durable goods orders up
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September 29, 1999: 9:49 a.m. ET
Rise in August orders defies forecasts of a slight dip in demand
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Durable goods orders rose 0.9 percent in August, the government reported Wednesday, reflecting strong demand for airplanes and cars.
The surprisingly robust data marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase for durable goods orders and defied analysts' forecasts of a 0.9 percent drop. The gain followed an upwardly revised 4.0 percent jump for July orders, the strongest monthly pickup in a year and a half.
In dollar terms, orders rose $1.8 billion to a seasonably adjusted $206.9 billion in August, the Commerce Department said.
"The momentum (for durable goods) still continues to be pretty robust," economist Maria Ramirez of Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. told CNNfn.
Durable goods items are goods intended to last three years or more, including costly items such as cars, planes and household purchases such as washing machines and refrigerators.
Transportation equipment, led by airplanes, automobiles and parts, showed the largest increase, gaining 4.6 percent to $49.4 billion, the government said. That follows a 2 percent gain in July.
Excluding the transportation sector, orders dropped 0.2 percent, compared with a revised 4.7 percent surge in the previous month.
The latest data are generally solid, showing strength in the auto industry and high-tech, economist James Glassman of Chase Securities Inc. said.
"The auto industry has been ramping up production, and at the same time high-tech computer equipment and orders are very strong," he told Reuters. "If you look at the industrial sector behind those two, durable goods are still pretty flat."
The bond market, sensitive to any volatility in economic data, lost ground slightly after the 8:30 a.m. ET report. The 30-year Treasury dropped 3/32 of a point in price, bringing the yield up to 6.08 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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