United States Durable Goods Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in the US unexpectedly increased $2.7 billion or 0.9% month-over-month to $289.3 billion in February 2025, following an upwardly revised 3.3% jump in January and beating forecasts of a 1% fall. Transportation equipment led the increase, up by $1.4 billion or 1.5%, namely orders for motor vehicles and parts (4%) and defense aircraft and parts (9.3%). Orders also increased for machinery (0.2%), fabricated metal products (0.9%), computers and related (1.1%), and electrical equipment, appliances, and components (2%). In contrast, orders for capital goods declined 1.5%. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.3% in February, the first drop in four months, following an upwardly revised 0.9% gain in January and worse than forecasts of a 0.2% increase. Uncertainty surrounding tariffs is likely making businesses hesitant to ramp up spending on equipment.