U.S. businesses shrugged off an uncertain economic environment and stepped up orders for capital goods in August, a sign the economy was not falling back into recession, Reuters reported.  

The Commerce Department said today that non-defense capital goods orders (for equipment used in construction and manufacturing) increased 1.1 percent after falling 0.2 percent in July.

That was well above economists’ expectations for a 0.3 percent rise and suggested that businesses, sitting on about $2 trillion in cash, had not responded to the recent financial market volatility by curtailing investment.

“If we were in a recession, we would expect to see business orders for capital goods plummeting, and they are not,” said Richard DeKaser, an economist at Parthenon Group LLC in Boston.

Though business spending plans point to continued growth, the report also confirmed a slowing trend in manufacturing.

Overall orders for durable goods — items meant to last three years or more, ranging from toasters to aircraft — dipped 0.1 percent after a 4.1 percent jump in July.

Orders were held back by an 8.5 percent drop in bookings for motor vehicles — the largest decline since February 2010. Economists blamed the fall on the seasonal adjustment to account for the rollout of new models, which normally happens in August. The drop in orders, which are quite volatile from month to month, came despite a 23.5 percent rise in orders for civilian aircraft.

The solid rise in investment spending, which was accompanied by a 2.8 percent increase in shipments of capital goods, prompted some economists to raise forecasts for third-quarter economic growth.