US Durable Goods Orders Surprise on the Upside

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods jumped by 7.9% from the previous month to $346 billion in April 2026, after an upwardly revised 1.3% rise in the prior month and largely beating forecasts of a 3.5% advance. This marked the strongest increase in new orders since May 2025, mainly reflecting higher demand for transportation equipment (+21.5%), particularly nondefense aircraft and parts (+165.9%); and capital goods (21%). Orders also increased for fabricated metal products (3.5%); primary metals (1.9%) and machinery (0.5%), but fell for computer and electronic products (-0.7%). Excluding transportation, new orders rose by 1.1%, the same pace as in March; while excluding defense, they surged by 8.1%, after a 0.3% decline previously. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell by 1.1%, following a 3.9% rise in the prior month.

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods rose by 0.8% from the previous month to $318.9 billion in March of 2026, rebounding from the revised 1.2% drop in the previous month, and slightly ahead of market expectations of a 0.5% increase. The result reflected some traction to goods orders despite the jump injection of uncertainty in the period as the war with Iran triggered a surge in energy prices and disrupted global shipping. Orders rose sharply for computers and electronic products (3.7% to $29.6 billion), aligned with the stronger momentum for AI products. Orders were also higher for machinery (0.8% to $41.8 billion), primary metals (0.4% to 28.8 billion), electrical equipment (0.8% to $18.3 billion), and the commonly volatile transportation equipment space (0.8% to $106.7 billion).

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods fell by 1.4% from the previous month to $315.5 billion in February of 2026, extending the revised 0.5% drop in the previous month. It was the third straight decline in orders, contrasting with leading indicators for the sector that reflected stronger demand for goods producers. Orders sank for transportation equipment (-5.4% to $106.1 billion) due to a -28.6% plunge in nondefense aircraft and parts (to $19.2 billion). Excluding transportation equipment, new orders inched higher by 0.8%, with support from primary metals (2.2% to $28.6 billion) and machinery (1.5% to $41.1 billion).