Factories orders in the U.S. rose in March by the largest amount in more than a year and a half.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported today that orders placed with factories went up 4.3% in March from the previous month. That marked the biggest increase since July 2002 and exceeded economists’ forecasts for a 2.4% advance.

March’s orders figure, which followed a 1.1% increase in February, reflected stronger demand for a wide variety of goods, including cars, machinery, household appliances, food, clothes and chemicals.

In today’s report, orders placed with factories for durable goods rose by a strong five% in March, on top of a sizeable 3.9% gain in February.

The strength was broad-based, with orders going up for primary metals, machinery, electrical lighting equipment, household appliances, automobiles, furniture and other categories. A few weak spots: orders for construction machinery fell sharply; orders also went down for computers and ships and boats.

Orders for nondurable goods, such as food and clothes, rebounded in March, rising by 3.5%, compared with a 1.8% decline registered in February.