Manufacturers received orders for durable goods worth $230.7 billion in December, up from $220.7 billion in November, according to the Census Bureau. Shipments were valued at $230.6 billion, a 1.3 percent increase over November.
Full-year orders in durable goods were worth $2.6 trillion, or 4.1 percent more than in 2011, according to the bureau. Manufacturers shipped $2.7 trillion worth of goods last year, or 7 percent more than 2011.
If orders for defense industries are excluded, manufacturers took orders in durable goods worth $2.5 trillion last year, a 4.4 percent increase from the previous year. Shipments were worth nearly $2.6 trillion, a 7.5 percent increase.
Significant changes in shipments for the year included:
• Nondefense aircraft and parts, 22.7 percent.
• Motor vehicles and parts, 12 percent.
• Transportation equipment, 11.2 percent.
• Computers and related products, -12.2 percent.
• Communications equipment, -4.8 percent.