New orders for U.S. manufactured goods surged in line with economist estimates in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said factory orders shot up by 1.6 percent in March after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.2 percent in February.

Economists had expected factory orders to spike by 1.6 percent compared to the 1.4 percent surge originally reported for the previous month.

The sharp increase in factory orders came as durable goods orders soared by 2.6 percent in March after climbing by 0.7 percent in February. Orders for transportation equipment led the way higher, skyrocketing by 7.8 percent.

The report said orders for non-durable goods also climbed by 0.6 percent in March after jumping by 1.7 percent in February.

The Commerce Department said shipments of manufactured goods also rose by 0.3 percent in March after surging by 1.4 percent in February.

Meanwhile, inventories of manufactured goods were virtually unchanged in March after inching up by 0.2 percent in February.

The inventories-to-shipments ratio subsequently came in at 1.47 in March, unchanged from the previous month.