Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods posted their biggest gain on record in July on strong overseas demand for aircraft, and the underlying trend also remained firm, pointing to brisk economic growth. Transportation orders rose a record 74.2 percent as bookings for civilian aircraft more than tripled. Boeing had said earlier it received a record 324 aircraft orders in July. Durable goods orders jumped 22.6 percent last month after an upwardly revised 2.7 percent increase in June, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
Many of the Boeing orders, including 150 planes by the Dubai-based airline Emirates EMIRA.UL, were for a new version of its top-selling twin-aisle 777 jet, which is still under development and sells for about $377 million at list price. The aircraft is due for delivery in 2020. It will take at least 10 years for the resulting increase in production from the orders, which also included the Dreamliner jet, to filter through to U.S. gross domestic product.
