The increase, far steeper than had been expected by Wall Street, pushed factory orders up to 329.96 billion dollars, the highest level since May 2001, the Commerce Department said.

When compared with March 2002, factory orders were up 3.6 percent.

Orders for military aircraft bolted 132.5 percent higher in March, while civilian plane orders fell 12.7 percent.

Transportation sector orders were up 2.9 percent, despite a 1.9 percent decline in motor vehicle orders.

Computers and electronic product orders rose 1.9 percent.

Orders for non-defense capital goods, a closely watched barometer of future business investment plans, surged 3.0 percent after plunging 4.9 percent the month before.

Overall, orders for big-ticket items -- durable goods expected to last at least three years -- rose 1.5 percent in March. Orders for other goods surged 3.0 percent.

Factory inventories were unchanged.

Unfilled orders, an indication of how busy factories will be in future months, rose 0.3 percent.

Shipments shot up 1.9 percent, reversing a 1.4 percent decline in the previous month.

Factory orders had declined 1.0 percent in February.

SPACE.WIRE