Orders for durable goods exceeded the expectations of economists, the Associated Press reported. For the second consecutive month, makers of big-ticket manufactured goods have experienced an increase in orders due to heightened demand.

The Commerce Department said today that orders for durable goods increased 1.3 percent in July, which matched the increase in June. However, economists were predicting only a 0.1 percent increase for July.

The demand for commercial aircraft increased 28 percent in July following a 21.3 percent drop the month prior, whereas orders for motor vehicles increased only slightly by 1.2 percent in July. This marked the second straight monthly increase for motor vehicle orders.

Overall, orders for transportation equipment increased more than 3 percent last month following a nearly 2 percent decline in June.

Orders outside transportation posted a slightly smaller increase of 0.7 percent, but that was better than the 0.3 percent decline analysts had expected.