Factory orders jumped 1.8 percent in June, matching the consensus estimate, following a 1.1 percent decrease in May.
Excluding transportation, which can be volatile, June orders rose a modest 0.5 percent.
Transportation equipment surged 9.3 percent. Civilian aircraft orders soared 65.4 percent, with defense aircraft up 31.0 percent. Ships and boats orders gained 25.8 percent.
The June increase in orders was only the second in the past 11 months -- orders were up 2.2 percent in March -- amid lingering weakness in the manufacturing sector.
In the first six months of the year, factory orders were down 5.9 percent compared with the same period in 2014. Ex-transportation, they were down 6.5 percent.
Manufacturing, accounting for about three quarters of total US industrial output, has been under pressure from tepid consumer spending and a stronger dollar weighing on exports. It was unchanged for a second straight month in June, according to Federal Reserve data.