Manufacturing sales rose 1.7% to $49.5 billion in July. Of 21 industries, 15 posted higher sales, indicating that the gain was relatively widespread across the sector. On the durable goods side of manufacturing, sales were up 2.1% to $24.8 billion. The increase mostly reflected higher sales in the miscellaneous manufacturing, fabricated metal product, and wood product industries. Non-durable goods sales were up 1.2% to $24.6 billion, largely as a result of an increase in the petroleum and coal product industry. Miscellaneous manufacturing sales increased 23.9% to $1.1 billion, rebounding from a similarly sized ... (full story)