With orders for transportation equipment showing a substantial increase, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by more than expected in the month of March.

The report said durable goods orders soared by 2.6 percent in March after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7 percent in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to spike by 2.3 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected increase in durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment shot up by 7.7 percent in March. Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way higher, skyrocketing by 30.6 percent.

Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders crept up by 0.2 percent in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report said orders for computers and electronic products advanced by 0.8 percent, while orders for fabricated metal products edged up by 0.2 percent.

Orders for both electrical equipment, appliances and components and machinery also inched up by 0.1 percent, but orders for primary metals fell by 0.5 percent.

The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, rose by 0.2 percent in March after climbing by 0.4 percent in February.

Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, also crept up by 0.2 percent in March after falling by 0.6 percent in February.