U.S. durable goods orders experienced a modest rise of 0.2% in October, amounting to approximately $286.56 billion, influenced heavily by a rebound in transportation equipment. This increment, reported by the Census Bureau, fell short of the expected 0.5% increase based on prior estimates. A notable decline of 0.4% was recorded in September, highlighting the volatility in this sector. Transportation equipment itself saw a sequential increase of 0.5%, reaching $97.06 billion in October.
This growth was buoyed by a significant 17% surge in defense aircraft and parts, alongside an 8.3% increase in nondefense components. However, motor vehicles and parts witnessed a slight decline of 0.4%. In September, both defense and nondefense orders experienced sharp downturns of 23% and 17% respectively, underscoring the rapid fluctuations within the industry. Excluding transportation, new orders in other sectors also showed a minor growth of 0.1%, matching Wall Street's projections.
Meanwhile, the latest data indicated gains in areas such as fabricated metal products, machinery, and electrical equipment, appliances, and components; however, primary metals and computers along with electronic products faced declines. On the shipments front, manufactured durable goods experienced a decrease of 0.6% to $285.25 billion after a previous drop of 0.8% in September.
Notably, new orders for nondefense capital goods surged by 1.4% to $86.18 billion, despite shipments dropping by 1.9%. In contrast, orders for defense capital goods fell by 4% to $17.34 billion, while shipments rose by 3.8%. Inventories reached $527.66 billion last month, a slight decrease from $527.88 billion in September, reflecting ongoing adjustments in the market landscape..