Durable Goods Orders, Shipments Rise
New orders for durable goods rose 3.2% in March, to $276.41 billion from February’s $267.77 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The details: Excluding transportation equipment, new durable goods orders increased 0.3% in the same period, to $179.01 billion from $178.49 billion.
- Nondefense aircraft and parts orders, which are often highly volatile from month to month, spiked 78.4%.
What else is up: Orders for computers and electronic products rose (1.9%), as did electrical equipment, appliances and components (0.8%), fabricated metal goods (0.1%), machinery (0.1%) and primary metals (0.1%).
What’s down: Demand inched down for other durable goods (down 0.3%) and motor vehicles and parts (down 0.1%).
Shipments: Durable goods shipments rose 1.1%, to $276.95 billion from $274.02 billion.
- Excluding transportation equipment, shipments of durable goods declined 0.2%, to $183.66 billion from $184.07 billion.
- On a year-over-year basis, durable goods shipments have risen 4.9% since March 2022, or 1.2% excluding transportation equipment.
The NAM says: “Overall, these data indicate softer growth than the headline number would suggest, with manufacturers experiencing a more challenging economic environment amid an uncertain outlook,” said NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray.