Durable Goods Orders Hold Steady in August, Buoyed by Electrical Equipment, Machinery

03:47 PM EDT, 09/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US durable goods orders were virtually flat in August as gains in electrical equipment and machinery were countered by a decline in transportation equipment, official data showed Friday. Orders for tangible items with an average lifespan of at least three years were virtually flat at $338.6 billion last month, following a 0.9% increase in July, the Census Bureau said. The consensus was for a 0.3% drop in a Bloomberg poll. Demand for electrical equipment and machinery grew 1.1% each, while orders for primary metals added 1.2%. Transportation equipment fell 0.6%, driven by declines in motor vehicles and non-defense aircraft, according to government data. Earlier this month, Boeing (BA) data showed that the planemaker booked orders for 15 jets in August, down from 38 the month previous and 26 a year earlier. "Durable goods orders were better than expected, and the upside surprise was concentrated in core capital goods orders, which points to further strength in business spending on equipment in (the second half), in line with the baseline forecast," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Bernard Yaros said in remarks e-mailed to MT Newswires. Demand growth for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft accelerated to 1.6% last month from 0.6% in July, the Census Bureau said. Earlier in the month, manufacturing surveys showed the sector continued to expand in August, with an Institute for Supply Management survey pointing to slight deceleration from the previous month while S&P Global (SPGI) data indicated a steady growth rate. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders increased 0.3% last month, government data showed. That missed Wall Street's expectations for 0.6% growth.