U.S. Factory Orders Jump in January

The number of orders received by U.S. factories rose 1.6% in January, a government report released Wednesday said.

Improving factory orders translate to increased demand for trucking services because factories depend on trucks to deliver raw materials and carry finished products to stores and warehouses.

The report by the Commerce Department said that, during the first month of the year, factory orders totaled $325.8 billion, led mostly by increased demand for vehicles and computers.

Excluding transportation equipment, that figure rose 1.2%, Commerce said. Transportation equipment is often discounted in looking at factory order figures because of their high cost and seasonal sales swings.

It is the second straight month that factory orders have increased, after a revised increase of 0.7% in December. Commerce had previously reported a 1.2% jump in orders for the last month of 2001.

Analysts said that the report was more proof that the U.S. economy had turned the corner and has starting to recover and pull out of its shallow recession, Bloomberg reported.

This is the second indication that the factory sector is improving to be delivered in less than a week. On March 1, the Institute of Supply Management said its factory index rose 54.7 in February, indicating the first growth in the sector since July 2000.

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