Businesses south of the border boosted their orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in January by the largest amount in three months, according to figures released Monday morning. However, a key category that tracks business investment plans dipped slightly.
The U.S. Commerce Department says orders for durable goods rose 1.8% in January after two months of declines. Last month's improvement came from a big hike in demand for commercial aircraft and military aircraft.
The department says, excluding the transportation category, orders actually slipped 0.2% the weakest showing since June. Demand in a category that tracks business investment plans fell 0.4% the first such drop since September.
The decline in business investment followed two months of strong gains. Analysts believe business investment will strengthen this year as the manufacturing sector recovers from two years of lackluster gains.
