Monday, Aug. 4, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Orders to U.S. factories rose 1.7 percent in June, the biggest gain in three months, a fresh sign that the nation's battered manufacturing sector is turning a corner.
The solid increase reported by the Commerce Department today came after orders went up by a modest 0.3 percent in May.
The performance in June was stronger than economists were expecting; they were forecasting a 1.5 percent rise in factory orders. Gains were fairly widespread with orders going up for machinery, household appliances and cars as well as "nondurable" goods such as food products and chemicals.
Today's report along with other recent data on factory activity suggest that the industry is on the mend.
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