Factory orders rise in June

WASHINGTON — America’s factories saw orders grow stronger in June, a spot of good news for manufacturers and for the economic recovery.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders placed with U.S. factories rose by a solid 0.7 percent in June from the previous month. The performance exceeded economists’ expectations for a 0.5 percent advance. The increase, the largest since March, was up from a 0.4 percent rise in May.

“Manufacturing looks quite healthy for the reason that its big demand drivers — business investment and exports — at the moment are operating at a higher gear,” said Clifford Waldman, economist at Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, a research group.

But on Wall Street, stocks fell. The Dow Jones industrials were off 27 points and the Nasdaq was down 11 points in trading around noon.

Orders for “durable” goods, costly manufactured items expected to last at least three years, posted a 0.9 percent increase in June, a turnaround from the 0.9 percent drop the month before.

Demand for machinery, fabricated metal products, airplanes for the military and electrical equipment were among the categories of durable goods showing gains in June.

For nondurable goods, such as food, orders rose by 0.5 percent in June, following a strong 2 percent increase in May. Meat, poultry and seafood products, chemicals, and plastics and rubber goods were among the categories posting increases in orders for June.

The government on Friday will release a report on the nation’s employment situation for July. Economists are hopeful that payrolls will grow by around 200,000, which would mark an improvement from the lackluster 112,000 net positions added in June.