The numbers: Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods such as autos and computers rose in June for the first time in three months, but business spending and investment is still much weaker than a year ago as companies try to navigate a more unsettled global economy.
If cars and planes are stripped out, orders rose a smaller 1.2%. Transportation often exaggerates the ups and downs in orders because of lumpy demand from one month to the next.What happened: Orders rose for autos, machines, computers, networking gear and primary metals. A key measure of business investment, known as core orders, advanced 1.9% to mark the biggest gain in almost a year and a half.
The originally reported 1.3% decline in orders in May, meanwhile, was revised to show a sharper 2.3% drop.Big picture: A weak global economy stunted in part by a festering U.S. trade dispute with China has blunted the momentum of American manufacturers. A new survey this week shows them barely growing in July, marking the worst performance in almost 10 years.