Manufacturing sales rose for the fourth consecutive month, up 0.3% to $51.5 billion in September. The gain reflected higher sales in the transportation equipment and fabricated metal industries.

Sales were up in 12 of 21 industries, representing 70.1% of the total manufacturing sector.

In constant dollar terms sales edged down 0.2%, indicating that lower volumes of manufactured goods were sold in September. Prices for the manufacturing sector rose 0.4% in September according to the Industrial Product Price Index.