Factory Orders Reach Record High

Orders for big-ticket manufactured items rose unexpectedly to an all-time high in February, providing some after-the-fact justification for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increase.

Spurred by demand for communications and other electronic equipment, durable goods orders to U.S. factories increased 1.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted $178.3 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Many analysts had anticipated a 0.5 percent decline.

The report showed that orders are piling up faster than factories can ship goods. Unfilled orders rose 1.1 percent, the ninth increase in 10 months.