That may not come until next week's report on durable-goods orders, she said.

An advance report a week ago put the February increase in durable-goods orders at a smaller 6 percent.

The department said durable-goods orders were concentrated in transportation equipment, up 10.4 percent, to $29.9 billion.

Durable-goods orders rose 0.9 percent in September; analysts had expected a decline.

Without the military setback, durable-goods orders would have risen an even stronger 1.7 percent last month.

Durable-goods orders should be growing as the economy gathers steam.

Statistics on durable-goods orders, due next Friday, will be the next sign of the economy's health.

His estimate is that durable-goods orders may have risen by a full percentage point last month, after February's 1.8 percent decline.

Data on durable-goods orders and inventories for that month will give an early hint of industrial production in the fourth quarter.

The figures on durable-goods orders have resurrected questions among market participants about whether the economy is recovering at a more rapid rate than previously thought.