New Orders for US Durable Goods Slides Less Than Feared
New orders dropped 1.4% in December — narrower than the 1.8% decline markets had forecast — with the total value falling $4.6 billion to $319.6 billion, according to figures published by the US Census Bureau. The result followed a steeper, upwardly revised 5.4% plunge recorded in November.
The transportation sector bore the brunt of the pullback. The US Census Bureau noted in an official statement that "Transportation equipment, also down two of the last three months, drove the decrease, $6.4 billion or 5.3% to $113.5 billion." A dramatic 25.9% collapse in non-defense aircraft and parts orders was the primary culprit behind that sector's weakness.
Broader capital goods orders retreated 3.9%, while defense aircraft and parts bucked the trend, surging 9.5% compared with 3.2% in November. Computers and electronic products also posted gains, rising 3% against a prior 0.7% increase.
A closely watched proxy for corporate investment appetite — orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft — edged up 0.6%, signaling that business spending plans have not deteriorated significantly.
Strip out transportation entirely, and new orders actually climbed 0.9% on the month. Excluding defense, however, orders fell 2.5%.
Durable goods data carries outsized weight among economists as a near-term barometer for the industrial sector, a cornerstone of broader US economic output.
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