Durable Goods Orders Rise More than Views

Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods rose in January.

Orders for durable goods--products like refrigerators and cars designed to last at least three years-climbed a seasonally adjusted 2.8% in January from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders rose 0.3%.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected overall orders to rise 0.6%.

A measure of business spending on equipment and software-orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft-increased 0.6% last month from December.