Area Development
Factory orders rose sharply in January, outpacing growth over the past four years partly due to a 52 percent increase in orders for civilian aircrafts and parts, according to the Department of Commerce. Aircraft orders from the Department of Defense increased 19 percent.

Manufacturing orders rose 3.1 percent in January after increasing 1.4 percent in December. When discounting transportation orders, all other factory orders rose a modest 0.7 percent in January, compared to 3 percent in December.

Nondurable goods, which account for 55 percent of all manufacturing orders, saw orders grow 3.1 percent in January.

Total factory orders were nearly 11 percent higher in January 2011 than they were the year previous.