WASHINGTON – The value of U.S. durable goods new orders rose 2.2% in September, well above expectations for a 1.1% increase, as transportation orders rose 5.1%, and new orders excluding transportation orders posted a 0.7% gain, data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department showed.
The rise in new orders excluding transportation was slightly ahead of the 0.5% gain expected and reflected mixed components. There were gains for fabricated metal products, computers and electronics, and the "all other durable goods" category. Those gains offset the declines in electrical equipment, primary metals and machinery.
Nondefense aircraft and parts new orders saw a 31.5% rise in September after a 33.5% rise in August, and a 71.1% decline in July. Meanwhile, defense aircraft and parts rose 2.4%. Motor vehicles orders saw a 0.1% increase. In addition, transportation orders excluding motor vehicles and aircraft rose 8.4%, according to an MNI calculation.
Nondefense capital goods new orders saw a 6.1% rise, but was still up 1.3% when excluding civilian aircraft.
Durable goods shipments rose 1.0% in September, with nondefense capital goods shipments up 2.4% and up 0.7% excluding civilian aircraft shipments.
Durable goods inventories were up 0.6% in the month, while unfilled orders saw a 0.2% increase. Total inventories posted the largest percentage gain since June of 2015 when it rose 1.1%.
