The Commerce Department this morning reported that new orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell 0.5% in April, less than the 2.8% drop economists expected.

The Street was expecting a sharper decline in orders for transportation equipment due to the high price of oil, not to mention that Boeing (BA) made it clear that it had less aircraft orders in April compared to in March. And while transportation orders did fall 8% in April, with aircraft orders receding 24.4%, the weakness in the sector was offset by a 2.5% gain in orders excluding transportation. More specifically, orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components increased by a record 27.8% in April.

Meanwhile, orders for core capital equipment (which exclude aircraft and non-defense goods) grew 4.2% in April, marking the largest rise since December. Defense capital goods expanded 4.8% in April, while unfilled orders rose 1%. Orders for machinery tacked on 4.2% in the month, though shipments of machinery dropped 1.3%. Orders for computers and electronics (other than semiconductors) fizzled 1.5% in April; however, shipments of computers rose 4.3%.