ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

May 4, 2004 2:05 PM, EDT

New orders for manufactured goods rose by $14.9 billion, or 4.3%, in March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The rise followed a 1.1% February increase and was the third in the past four months.

Rising orders translate to more demand for trucking services because factories use trucks to ship raw materials and finished products.

Shipments increased $13.1 billion or 3.8% to $361.3 billion, following a 0.1% February decrease, the department said. The rise was the biggest increase since the recent set of records began in 1992, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturers had a record-low 1.23 months worth of inventories at the current sales pace in March, suggesting production gains in coming months, Bloomberg said.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in March increased $9.4 billion, or 5%, to $195.8 billion, revised upward from a previously published $6.3 billion increase, Commerce said.

The latest manufacturing and construction spending data suggest first-quarter growth will be revised to 4.7%, from a 4.1% pace initially reported, Bloomberg said, citing economists at Morgan Stanley.

11416