Washington ? America’s factories saw orders rebound in December, rising by a strong 1.1 percent, a fresh sign that the national economy’s recovery was in full stride as it headed into the new year.

The over-the-month increase reported by the Commerce Department Wednesday came after orders placed with factories dropped by 0.9 percent in November. The latest snapshot of manufacturing activity was better than economists were expecting. They were forecasting a modest 0.3 percent rise in orders for December.

Much of the strength in December reflected stronger demand for “nondurable” goods, such as food products.

After keeping their inventories lean, “businesses are now having to restock everything from clothing and apparel to toothpaste, diapers and prescription and nonprescription medicines,” said Mark Vitner, economist at Wachovia.

That restocking, he said, bodes well for helping economic growth in the current quarter, which some analysts predict will exceed at 4 percent annual rate.