New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.2% in August to $284.7 billion, bouncing back from the drop that occurred in July, the U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday.
The preliminary data for July was revised downward, showing durable goods orders in that month had declined 5.6% instead of 5.2% as the bureau previously reported. Despite the July slump, durable goods orders have increased in five of the last six months.
Viewed on an annual basis, durable goods orders are up 4.2% compared to August of 2022.
“The data continue to reflect lingering signs of resilience despite a challenging economic environment and an uncertain outlook,” said Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.
Durable goods are defined as manufactured items meant to last three years or more and include everything from kitchen toasters to airplanes. Notable monthly increases occurred in August in the categories of machinery (+0.5%); fabricated metal products (+0.5%); computers and electronics (+0.3%); and electrical equipment, appliances and components (+1.1%).
However, August orders declined for capital goods (-0.2%), transportation equipment (-0.2%) and primary metals (-0.6%). Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, went up 0.9%, recovering from a 0.4% fall in July.
Durable goods shipments increased 0.5% in August, to $284.59 billion from $283.15 billion in July. For the 12-month period ending in August, shipments are up 4.2%.
