US Factory Orders Pull Back

New orders for US manufactured goods rose by 2.7% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted $621.6 billion in November of 2025, rebounding from the revised 1.2% drop in the previous month, the sharpest increase in six months. Orders for durable goods rose by 5.3% to $323.8 billion, supported by a surge in transportation equipment (14.7% to $119.4 billion) due to a near doubling in orders of nondefense aircraft and parts ($35.4 billion). Durable goods orders also rose for electrical equipment (1% to $18.2 billion), fabricated metal products (0.9% to $42.4 billion) and machinery 0.3% to $40 billion. In turn, orders in nondurable goods industries were unchanged from the previous month to $297.9 billion.

New orders for US manufactured goods fell by 1.3% from the previous month to $607.4 billion in October of 2025, erasing the 0.2% increase in September, and in line with market expectations of a 1.2% drop. Orders for durable goods contracted by 2.2% (to $307.3 billion), pressured by declines for transportation and equipment (-6.4% to $103.9 billion), mainly through nondefense aircraft (-20% to $17.4 billion), in addition to primary metals (-0.9% to $17.2 billion) and electrical equipment, appliances, and components (-1.6% to $17.7 billion). In turn, orders were higher for machinery (0.7% to $39.9 billion), fabricated metal products (0.6% to $41.9 billion), and computers and electronic products (0.9% to $27 billion).

New orders for US manufactured goods rose 0.2% month-over-month in September 2025, following a downwardly revised 1.3% gain in August and falling short of expectations for a 0.5% increase. Transportation equipment orders climbed for a second month (0.4% vs. 8.0% in August), supported by a rebound in vehicle orders (0.2% vs. –0.3%) and another strong surge in defense aircraft (30.9% vs. 48.3%). Demand also strengthened across several key categories, including electrical equipment, appliances, and components (1.7% vs. 0.5%), primary metals (1.5% vs. 0.5%), computers and electronic products (0.5% vs. –1.1%), and fabricated metal products (0.5% vs. 0.5%). Meanwhile, machinery orders were unchanged, following a 2.1% increase in August. Excluding transportation, new factory orders also rose 0.2% after a 0.1% decline, while excluding defense, orders were flat after a 0.7% gain the prior month.