According to US government data issued Tuesday, orders for big-ticket manufactured items picked up the pace again last month, as businesses reported increased demand for a variety of commodities.

The Commerce Department said that durable goods orders rose 0.8 percent in March, which was less than economists expected but a reversal from the over two percent drop the month before, which the data revealed was less severe than initially reported.

Orders have risen in five of the last six months, according to Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics, indicating a “pretty solid” growth trend for factories.

“The latest problems in China aren’t helping, but domestic demand for durable goods is robust, so the recovery in manufacturing output is set to continue,” he wrote in an analysis.

Despite the persistent semiconductor scarcity, orders for computers and electronic items increased by 2.6 percent, while orders for electrical equipment and appliances jumped by 3.9 percent, and orders for motor vehicles and parts increased by 5%.

According to the report, orders for nondefense aircraft and parts, such as Boeing jets, fell 9.9%, while orders for defense aircraft and parts fell 25.6 percent.

Transportation equipment as a whole rose only 0.2 percent as a result of these decreases.

Durable goods orders increased 1.1 percent last month, excluding transportation. They increased by 1.2 percent excluding defense equipment, according to the study.