US July factory orders up on transportation demand

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - New orders received by U.S. factories edged up in July after two straight months of decline on robust demand for new transportation equipment, according to a Commerce Department report on Thursday.

Total orders rose 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted $409.5 billion after falling 0.6 percent in June and 1.8 percent in May, less than the 0.3 percent gain that economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast.

July's rise stemmed entirely from a 12.9 percent jump in transportation orders, and excluding that volatile segment, orders dropped 1.5 percent for the sharpest monthly decline since a 2.8 percent plunge in March 2009. (Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by James Dalgleish)