Business Operations

Demand for U.S. durable goods bounced back in August following two months of declines, according to U.S. Census Bureau preliminary data out Thursday.

What’s going on: New orders for durable manufactured items rose $8.9 billion, or 2.9%, to $312.1 billion last month, led by a surge in transportation equipment.

• The figures come after a 2.7% July decrease in durable goods orders and a 9.3% decline in June.
• Excluding transportation, new orders went up 0.4%, and excluding defense, they rose 1.9%.
• Orders for transportation equipment, which tend to be volatile month to month, went up $8.1 billion, or 7.9%, to $110.2 billion after declining 9.4% in July.

Shipments and unfilled orders: In August, durable goods shipments inched down $0.5 billion, or 0.2%, to $307.5 billion, following a 1.6% increase in July.

• Unfilled orders, which have risen for 13 of the past 14 months, rose $9.6 billion last month, or 0.7%, to $1,479.0 billion after a flat July.

Inventories and capital goods: Inventories of durable goods ticked down in August, decreasing $0.1 billion, following 10 back-to-back monthly increases.

• Nondefense new orders for durable goods increased $4.6 billion, or 5.1%, to $95.0 billion in August. Shipments declined $0.7 billion, or 0.8%, to $89.2 billion.

In other economic news: Sales of pre-owned homes declined 0.2% in August, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.0 million units ( The Wall Street Journal, subscription).

• The median home price rose to $422,600, up 2% from August 2024 and the highest-ever price for August.