There was a 0.8 percent increase in orders for manufactured goods in May from April, the Census Bureau just reported, as a 36.5 percent boost in demand for commercial aircraft and aircraft parts led the way.
There were also more modest increases in orders for machinery (0.4 percent), computers and electronic products (1.2 percent) and electrical equipment (3 percent).
The overall, 0.8 percent, increase nearly made up for the 0.9 percent drop in orders from March to April. Orders rose 3.8 percent in March from February. All those figures are "seasonally adjusted."
Bloomberg News says the report may be a sign that the factory sector will "rebound from a slowdown in economic growth in the first half of 2011."
It adds that "manufacturing is showing signs of recovering from parts shortages linked to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, at the same time commodity costs ebb and growing economies overseas fuel exports."
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