US September 2026 factory orders rise 1.8%, the biggest gain since April

Business equipment orders have now risen for six months in a row

New orders show how much demand manufacturers are booking for future production. According to the Census Bureau, total new orders rose 1.8% to $677.2bn (billion dollars) in September. That followed a revised 0.3% gain in August. Core capital goods orders track business plans to invest in equipment. They cover nondefense capital goods and leave out aircraft.

• Core capital goods orders rose 0.6% to $88.2bn, their sixth straight monthly gain.
• That is up 13.7% from $77.6bn in September 2025.
• Machinery orders rose 1.5%, also their sixth straight gain.
• Shipments of core capital goods rose 1.2%.

Orders for durable and nondurable goods both rose

Durable goods orders rose 1.9% to $345.7bn. This is slightly above the first estimate of $345.4bn, published on Oct 27. Transportation equipment orders rose 4.6%. Without transportation, total orders still rose 1.3%. Orders for nondurable goods also rose 1.8%, mostly because prices went up. Shipments of petroleum and coal products jumped 5.2%. They had risen by about 2% in each of July and August. The Middle East oil shock is raising the value of refined products.

Factories are selling goods faster than they are adding to stocks

Shipments rose 1.3% to $668.5bn. Total inventories rose only 0.4% to $976.0bn. The inventories-to-shipments ratio compares the value of goods in stock with monthly sales. It fell to 1.46, the lowest in 14 months and well below 1.56 a year earlier. Unfilled orders rose 0.9% to $1.62tn (trillion dollars).

Revisions to August were small

Finished-goods inventories for August were revised up by $73m (million dollars). The August inventories-to-shipments ratio was revised from 1.48 to 1.47.