New orders for US factory goods rose by 4.8% in April, above expectations for a 4.6% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET and following a revised 1.8% increase in March.
Excluding a 21.6% surge in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 1.3% after a 1.8% gain in March.
Durable goods new orders were revised upwards to 8% from the advance estimate of a 7.9% gain and follows a 1.3% gain in March.
Nondurable goods new orders increased by 1.4%, slower than a 2.3% increase in the previous month.
Factory shipments increased by 1%, while unfilled orders increased by 1.7%.
Factory inventories increased by 0.3% and, when combined with already-published advance estimates for retail and wholesale inventories, shows business inventories on pace for a 0.5% gain in the month.