US Factory Orders Barely Grow in August

New orders for US manufactured goods edged up by 0.1% month over month in August 2026, following a downwardly revised 0.8% increase in July and matching market forecasts. Non-durable goods orders rose by 0.3%, after a 0.7% increase previously, mainly supported by electrical equipment, appliances, and components (1% vs 0%); primary metals (1.2% vs. 2.1% in July) and machinery (1.1% vs. 1.5%). Conversely, orders declined for nondefense aircraft and parts (-4.3%) and fabricated metal products (-1.4%). Meanwhile, durable goods orders fell by 0.1%, reversing a 0.9% advance in the prior month. Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 0.3%, while excluding defense they increased 0.1%.

New orders for US manufactured goods rose 0.9% month over month in July 2026, rebounding from a revised 0.2% decline in June and beating market expectations of a 0.6% increase. The increase was led by a 2.3% jump in transportation equipment orders, driven by a 12.7% surge in civilian aircraft and parts. Orders also rose for defense aircraft and parts (4.9%), ships and boats (5.3%) and motor vehicles (0.4%). Demand increased for primary metals (2.0%), machinery (0.8%) and fabricated metal products (0.6%), while orders fell for computers and electronic products (-1.1%) and electrical equipment, appliances and components (-0.3%). Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 0.6%, while excluding defense they increased 1.0%.

Factory orders in the United States eased 0.3% from the previous month to $656.5 billion in June of 2026, extending the revised 1.1% decline in the previous month, missing expectations of a 0.2% increase. It was the first month of back-to-back declines in nearly one year, indicating some impact from soaring energy costs due to the war in the Middle East and lingering impact from tariffs. Non-durable goods orders fell by 1.2% to $321.13 billion, amid lower prices for chemicals and petroleum derived products. In turn, durable goods orders inched higher by 0.5%, holding most of the 4.0% decline from May. Orders were lower for fabricated metal products (-0.6% to $45.2 billion) and transportation equipment (-0.1% to $114.1 billion), weighing against growth for machinery (0.3% to $43.8 billion) and computers and electronic products (3.2% to $31.1 billion).