US Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Rebound

Durable goods orders in the US rose by 2.9% month-over-month to $312.1 billion in August 2025, reversing a revised 2.7% slump in July and better than market estimates of a 0.5% fall. This marked the first increase in goods orders in three months, led by transport equipment (+7.9%), notably defense aircraft and parts (+50.1%) and nondefense aircraft and parts (+21.6%). New orders were up 0.4% when excluding transportation, and 1.9% when excluding defense. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose by 0.6% in August, after a 0.8% increase in the prior month.