New orders for manufactured goods to U.S. factories rose by 0.9 percent in September, the fifth increase in six months, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
The 0.9 percent gain is slightly better than the 0.8 percent increase economists had been expecting.
Orders for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last at least three years such as computers, cars and machinery, rose by 1.4 percent in September.
Orders for nondurable goods, including food, paper products, petroleum and coal products, increased by 0.6 percent.
