Orders for durable goods, which are meant to last at least three years, rose in August, according to data released on Thursday.
Durable-goods orders rose 4.5% last month, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast a 1.9% increase.
Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders increased 0.1% in August.
A key measure of business investment, meanwhile, fell in August. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell by 0.5% from a month earlier.
