US durable goods orders showed little evidence of an impending recession in December, even excluding large upward distortions from both civilian and military aircraft, the Commerce Department reported today. However, 2007 durables orders for the year were nearly flat. Total new durables orders were up 5.2 pct last month, and excluding transportation orders rose 2.6 pct. Economists polled by Thomson's IFR Markets had expected orders to rise 1.6 pct for the month and to remain unchanged excluding transportation. There was an unusually wide range in the economists' forecasts, reflecting the uncertainty about the US economy. "Here is another thing that does not happen when the economy slips into recession," said Robert Brusca of FAO Economics. "Orders do not pop by 5.2 pct in one month. Put it right up there with jobless claims at 300,000 and rising University of Michigan consumer sentiment." Adding to the positive tone, November orders were revised up to a 0.5 pct gain from the 0.1 pct increase first reported. The biggest single distorting swing factor was based on Boeing's order book, which grew to 287 aircraft from 177 in November. Today's report showed an 11.7 pct rise in new orders for civilian aircraft. The Pentagon also weighed in with a 138.1 pct increase in orders for military aircraft. Defense capital goods orders overall rose 80.5 pct. Excluding defense durables, orders rose 2.9 pct. The combined aircraft orders offset the auto industry slump, which produced a 2.3 pct decline in new vehicle orders. Taking out those highly volatile numbers, the key core durable goods orders number -- non-defense and excluding aircraft, and a proxy for business capital spending -- rose 4.4 pct in December. That was the biggest increase since a 4.6 pct rise in March and a positive sign for the economy. "The rise, should it be sustained, would suggest ongoing growth in business investment. Part of the fiscal efforts put forward in recent weeks could stimulate business demand through accelerated depreciation schemes. The fiscal stimulus had no impact on December orders," said Stephen Gallagher at Societe Generale. Orders were particularly strong in computers, communications equipment and machinery. However, shipments for December, which feed into the last quarter's GDP calculations, fell 0.1 pct in December after a 0.2 pct decline in November. December's unfilled orders, another positive sign for growth, rose 2.5 pct, while inventories rose 1.1 pct.