Orders for U.S. machine tools rose 6.4%...

Orders for U.S. machine tools rose 6.4% in November from October to $279 million, the industry’s trade association said. November orders rebounded from a 20% drop in October orders from September, the National Machine Tool Builders’ Assn. said. Machine tools orders are an indication of capital investment by manufacturers of durable goods, which are items that last at least three years, such as refrigerators and cars. Machine tool orders are often volatile from month to month. In the first 11 months of this year, machine tool orders were up 74% from the same period a year earlier to $3.27 billion.