Census Bureau · · Revised 268 series
US September durable goods orders rise 1.8%, driven mostly by a jump in aircraft orders
US orders for durable goods rose 1.8% in September, mostly because civilian aircraft orders jumped 28.4%. Core business equipment orders rose 0.5% to a record high, which points to steady investment.
A data update from FactIQ, written from Census Bureau figures. What is FactIQ?
Key figures
- US durable goods orders, September, monthly change
- 1.8%up from a revised 0.1% rise in August; total orders of $345.4bn2022-10-012026-09-01Monthly Percent Change in New Orders for Durable Goods in the United States
- US civilian (nondefense) aircraft and parts orders, September, monthly change
- 28.4%up to $25.3bn from $19.7bn2022-10-012026-09-01Monthly Percent Change in New Orders for Nondefense Aircraft and Parts in the United States
- US core capital goods orders (nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft), September, monthly change
- 0.5%record high of $88.0bn; slower than August's 1.6% gain2022-10-012026-09-01Monthly Percent Change in New Orders for U.S. Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- US durable goods orders excluding transportation, September, monthly change
- 0.5%up from 0.3% in August; ninth straight monthly gain2022-10-012026-09-01Monthly Percent Change in New Orders for Durable Goods Excluding Transportation in the United States
Civilian aircraft orders account for most of the September gain
Durable goods are long-lasting manufactured products such as machinery, vehicles and aircraft. Orders for them show where factory demand is heading. According to the Census Bureau's advance report, seasonally adjusted durable goods orders rose 1.8% in September to $345.4 billion. Revised data show a 0.1% rise in August.
- Orders for nondefense (civilian) aircraft and parts jumped 28.4%, to $25.3 billion from $19.7 billion. That is roughly $5.6 billion of the $6.3 billion total increase.
- Transportation equipment orders rose 4.6%.
- Orders excluding defense rose 2.2%.
- Defense capital goods orders fell 1.8%, their third straight drop.
Business equipment demand is rising steadily
Core capital goods orders count orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft. They are a common gauge of business investment plans. They rose 0.5% to a record $88.0 billion. This was slower than August's 1.6% gain, but it was the fifth straight monthly rise. Shipments of these goods feed into the gross domestic product (GDP) estimate of business equipment spending. They rose 1.2%, after gains of 1.4% in July and 0.6% in August. This points to solid equipment investment in the third quarter. Orders excluding transportation rose 0.5%, up from 0.3% in August. That was their ninth straight monthly gain.
Machinery led the industry gains, and the order backlog grew
- Machinery orders rose 1.2%. This was their fifth straight gain of at least 1%.
- Orders for computers and electronics rose 0.8%, primary metals 0.5% and motor vehicles 0.3%.
- Unfilled orders rose 0.8% to $1.62 trillion. Shipments rose 0.9% and inventories 0.3%.
Revisions to July and August were small. For example, August core capital goods orders moved to $87,633 million from $87,629 million.
Source: Census Bureau. See all CENSUS data in FactIQ.