Orders to US factories for durable goods rebounded in January, with a key category that indicates business investment plans showing an increase, the government reported Thursday. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods—expensive manufactured items expected to last at least three years—jumped 2.8 percent last month after big declines of 3.7 percent in December and 2.2 percent in November. The strong rebound in orders was bigger than economists expected, but it was heavily influenced by a surge in demand in the volatile category of commercial aircraft, which soared 128.5 percent last month after having fallen 58.3 percent in December. Excluding transportation, durable-goods orders showed a modest gain of 0.3 percent in January after declines the previous two months. Demand for machinery rose 1.9 percent, and demand for computers rose 7.4 percent. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft—a closely watched measure of business spending intentions—increased 0.6 percent in January, following four consecutive months of declines, including a 0.7 percent drop in December. The stronger U.S. dollar and global weakness have hurt U.S. exports but economists still are optimistic that surging domestic demand will result in a sustained rebound in durable-goods orders this year.