U.S. core capital goods orders surge in November

New orders for key U.S. manufacturing capital goods rose significantly in November, driven by strong demand for machinery and signaling a strong economy at the end of the year. Shipments of these items also increased for the second consecutive month, following encouraging consumer spending data last week, according to a Commerce Department report.

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The economy’s resilience prompted the Federal Reserve to adjust its expectations for an interest rate cut in 2025. Core capital goods orders, excluding defense and aircraft, climbed 0.7% after a slight 0.1% decline in October, beating Reuters economists’ forecasts for a 0.1% rise. Meanwhile, shipments of these goods increased 0.5% after rising 0.4% the previous month, underscoring continued business investment trends.

While machinery orders surged 1.0%, industries such as computers and electronics saw opposite declines. Specifically, transportation equipment orders fell 2.9%, mainly affected by a 7.0% decline in commercial aircraft orders, with Boeing’s orders falling from 63 to 49 in October.

The decline in aircraft orders has raised concerns about spending in the equipment business heading into the fourth quarter. Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets, commented on the potential impact but noted that strong growth in core capital goods orders could mitigate some of the negative impact. Despite these challenges, the Atlanta Fed’s forecast for fourth-quarter GDP growth remains optimistic at 3.1%, in line with third-quarter performance.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform