The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the durable goods orders climbed 3.4 percent m-o-m in January 2021, following a revised 1.2 percent m-o-m gain in December 2020 (originally a 0.2 percent m-o-m advance). This represented the biggest monthly increase in durable goods orders since July 2020.

Economists had forecast a 1.1 percent m-o-m jump.

According to the report, a 7.8 percent m-o-m surge in orders for transportation equipment was the major contributor to the January rise. Meanwhile, orders for durable goods excluding transportation increased 1.4 percent m-o-m in January, following a revised 1.7 percent m-o-m advance in December (originally a 0.7 percent m-o-m gain), also exceeding economists’ forecast of 0.7 percent m-o-m rise.

Elsewhere, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased 0.5 percent m-o-m in January after a revised 1.5 percent jump m-o-m in December (originally a 0.7 percent m-o-m gain). Economists had called for a 0.7 percent m-o-m advance in core capital goods orders in January.

Shipments of these core capital goods rose 2.1 percent m-o-m in January after a revised 1.0 percent m-o-m jump in the prior month (originally a 0.7 percent m-o-m advance).