Durable goods orders in September increased at their highest rate over the past year, blowing past forecasts and reversing from two consecutive months of decline, drive🧔n by a 💦sharp increase in aircraft orders. 

Showing an increase in business spending, new orders for manufactured durable goods increased $13.2 billion in September, a 4.7% gain to bring the monthly total to $297.2 billion, according to the data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This follows a 0.1% August decline and a 5.6% drop in July for durable goods orders, which are generally defined as expensive equipment and items that are expected to last at least three years.

It’s the largest increase reported since July 2020, and well ahead of the expectations of economists, who forecasted an increase of 2% for September.

"This is a very solid report that underscores some resiliency in the U.S. manufacturing sector despite rapid increases in interest rates and still-high inflation," wrote BMO Economist Jay Hawkins in an analysis. "The underlying details weren’t as strong as the headline upturn suggests, but broad-based increases in new orders point to a possible bottoming in the manufacturing sector and rebound in business equipment spending in the last quarter of 2023."

Reflecting an increase in aircraft purchases, transportation equipment orders led the durable order gains to jump 12.7%, also reversing two consecutive months of declines. The increase in transportation orders comes as U.S. aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing (BA) 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:boosted deliveries of planes after working to resolve a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:series of production delays. 

Inventories of manufactured durable goods inched up 0.1% to reach $523.7 billion in September, its second consecutive month of increases. Excluding transportation equipment, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:so-called core du🙈rable goods orders rose 0.5% in September, following a 0.4% rise in August. Nondefense new orders for capital goods, viewed as a proxy for business investments, increased at 18.6% in September, turning around a 2.9% decline in August.