Durable goods orders increased 1.1% month-over-month in April (Briefing.com consensus -1.0%) following an upwardly revised 3.3% increase (from 3.2%) in March.
Excluding transportation, durable goods orders declined 0.2% month-over-month in April (Briefing.com consensus -0.1%) following a 0.3% increase in March.
New orders for primary metals decreased 0.5% after increasing 0.5% in March.
New orders for fabricated metal products were flat after rising 0.7% in March.
New orders for machinery jumped 1.0% after declining 0.2% in March.
New orders for computers and electronic products fell 1.4% after increasing 1.8% in March.
Transportation equipment orders rose 3.7% after increasing 9.9% in March. New orders for motor vehicles and parts slipped 0.1% after declining 0.2% in March. New orders for defense aircraft and parts surged 32.7% following a 26.9% increase in March.
Shipments of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, which factors into GDP computations, were up 0.5% following a 0.2% decline in March.
The key takeaway from the report is that nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business spending -- increased 1.4% month-over-month after sliding 0.6% in March.| APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Durable Orders | 1.1% | 3.3% | -2.7% | -1.3% | 4.5% |
| Less Defense | -0.6% | 3.2% | -2.3% | -1.8% | 4.9% |
| Less Transport | -0.2% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Transportation | 3.7% | 9.9% | -8.3% | -4.2% | 13.6% |
| Capital Goods | 4.6% | 9.4% | -8.5% | -4.9% | 14.3% |
| Nondefense | -0.5% | 9.8% | -8.1% | -6.3% | 16.4% |
| Nondefense/nonaircarft (core cap gds) | 1.4% | -0.6% | -0.2% | 0.9% | 0.6% |
| Defense Cap Goods | 36.1% | 6.9% | -10.6% | 4.2% | 2.0% |
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