With orders for transportation equipment showing a substantial increase, the Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing that orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose by much more than expected in the month of December.

The report showed that durable goods orders surged up by 4.6 percent in December following a 0.7 percent increase in November. Economists had been expecting orders to increase by about 1.6 percent.

Excluding an 11.9 percent jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders increased by a more modest 1.3 percent in December compared to a 1.2 percent increase in November. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to edge up by 0.4 percent.