US Durable Goods Orders Rise More Than Expected

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods increased 1.8% month-on-month in September 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.1% gain in August and exceeding market expectations of a 1.5% rise. The increase was driven by a strong rebound in transportation equipment orders, which climbed 4.6% after falling 0.3% in August, led by a 28.4% surge in civilian aircraft bookings. Elsewhere, orders rose for machinery (1.2% vs. 1.0%), computers and electronic products (0.8% vs. 0.5%), primary metals (0.5% vs. 1.9%) and fabricated metal products (0.4% vs. -1.4%). Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.5%, following a 0.3% gain in August, while orders excluding defense surged 2.2%, compared with a 0.3% rise in the previous month. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched indicator of business investment plans, rose 0.5% after increasing 1.6% in August.

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods were largely flat month-over-month at $338.6 billion in August 2026, following two consecutive monthly increases and compared to market forecasts for a 0.4% decrease. Orders declined for transport equipment (-0.6%), namely nondefense aircraft and parts (-4.3%) and vehicles and parts (-0.6%), as well as fabricated metal products (-1.3%). Conversely, the biggest increases were seen for defense aircraft and parts (5.9%); computer and related products (1.5%); primary metals (1.2%); electrical equipment, appliances, and components (1.1%) and machinery (1.1%). Excluding transportation, durable goods orders went up by 0.3%, after a 0.7% increase in July and below the expected 0.6% gain. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, grew by 1.6%, after a 0.6% increase in July and overshooting market forecasts for a 0.5% advance.

New orders for US-manufactured durable goods rose by 1.1% month-over-month to $339.3 billion in July 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.5% increase in June and overshooting market forecasts of a 0.5% gain. This marked the strongest increase since April, mainly due to higher orders for transportation equipment (2.3%), primarily nondefense (12.7%) and defense aircraft and parts (4.9%). Solid gains were also seen for capital goods (1.3%), primary metals (1.5%) and machinery (1.2%). On the other hand, orders fell for computers and electronic products (-1.1%) and electrical equipment, appliances, and components (-0.4%). Excluding transportation, durable goods orders rose 0.4%, after an upwardly revised 1.1% growth in June and missing market estimates of a 0.6% gain. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, went up by 0.2%, following an upwardly revised 1.7% rise in June and below forecasts of 0.9%.