Private-sector machinery orders -- considered a leading indicator of corporate capital investment six to nine months in the future -- grew a strong 14.4 percent from May, the highest since the 27.3 percent registered in October 1996, the Economic Planning Agency said Tuesday.
The EPA also reported that machinery orders, excluding volatile orders for ships and from power companies, grew 3.1 percent in the April-June quarter over the previous three months on the back of strong investments in information technology, the fourth consecutive quarterly increase.
Commenting on the trend, Yoshihiko Senoo, head of the EPA's Business Statistics Research Division, said the June data indicate a "recovering trend," an upgraded assessment from "moves toward a recovery," which he used to characterize data from March through May.