Updated: 26-Apr-22 09:19 ET
| March Durable Orders |
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| Updated: 26-Apr-22 09:19 ET |
Highlights
- Total durable goods orders increased 0.8% month-over-month in March (Briefing.com consensus +1.1%) following an upwardly revised 1.7% decline (from -2.2%) in February.
- Excluding transportation, durable goods orders increased 1.1% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus +0.5%) following an upwardly revised 0.5% decline (from -0.6%) in February.
Key Factors
- New orders for primary metals increased 1.5% after being unchanged in February.
- New orders for fabricated metal products rose 0.8% following a 1.0% increase in February.
- New orders for machinery increased 0.7% following a 2.9% decline in February.
- New orders for transportation equipment rose 0.2% after declining 4.4% in February, paced by a 5.0% increase in new orders for motor vehicles and parts.
- Shipments of nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, jumped 0.2% after increasing 0.2% in February and 2.2% in January. This component factors into GDP computations, so it is a positive input for Q1 GDP.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that it conveyed a nice rebound in order activity after a brief slump in February. Notably, new orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business spending -- jumped 1.0% following a 0.3% decline in February.
| Category | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC | NOV |
| Total Durable Orders | 0.8% | -1.7% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 3.2% |
| Less Defense | 1.2% | -2.1% | 1.3% | 2.7% | 2.7% |
| Less Transport | 1.1% | -0.5% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Transportation | 0.2% | -4.4% | 3.2% | 1.7% | 8.2% |
| Capital Goods | -1.1% | -4.3% | 4.9% | -1.0% | 6.1% |
| Nondefense | -0.5% | -6.1% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 5.1% |
| Nondefense/nonaircarft (core cap gds) | 1.0% | -0.3% | 1.2% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Defense Cap Goods | -5.6% | 11.9% | 18.6% | -34.0% | 13.2% |
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