Updated: 25-May-18 09:22 ET
| April Durable Orders |
 |
|
| Updated: 25-May-18 09:22 ET |
Highlights
- New orders for durable goods declined 1.7% (Briefing.com consensus -1.6%) in April after increasing an upwardly revised 2.7% (from 2.6%) in March.
- Excluding transportation, orders increased 0.9% (Briefing.com consensus +0.6%) in April after increasing an upwardly revised 0.4% (from 0.0%) in March.
- Accounting for the revisions, the April report was a bit better than expected.
Key Factors
- Orders for primary metals increased 1.3% after increasing 4.6% in March
- Orders for fabricated metal products jumped 2.0% after increasing 1.2% in March
- Orders for machinery declined 0.8% after declining 3.2% in March
- Orders for motor vehicles and parts rose 1.8% after increasing 0.6% in March
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that it will factor as a positive input for Q2 GDP forecasts since shipments of nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, rose 0.8%. It also conveyed a modest pickup in business spending, evidenced by the 1.0% increase in new orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft.
| Category | APR | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC |
| Total Durable Orders | -1.7% | 2.7% | 4.5% | -4.2% | 3.2% |
| Less Defense | -1.9% | 4.3% | 2.2% | -3.4% | 3.5% |
| Less Transport | 0.9% | 0.4% | 1.3% | -0.9% | 1.6% |
| Transportation | -6.1% | 6.9% | 10.8% | -10.2% | 6.3% |
| Capital Goods | -5.7% | 4.4% | 9.6% | -6.3% | 3.4% |
| Nondefense | -6.8% | 8.8% | 3.5% | -3.5% | 3.4% |
| Nondefense/nonaircraft (core cap gds) | 1.0% | -0.9% | 1.6% | -1.2% | 2.8% |
| Defense Cap Goods | 3.1% | -21.2% | 66.3% | -26.0% | 3.5% |
|
|