For the month of May, transportation was the clear winner when it came to new durable goods orders. Overall, orders were up 3.6 percent, following a revised 3.6 percent increase in April. Excluding transports, orders increased 0.7 percent. Excluding defense, orders increased 3.5 percent. For the actual press release from the U.S. Census Bureau click here.
Overall, with regard to manufacturing and consumer spending on durable goods or “big ticket” items, the report is okay; but it does reflect the current challenges the U.S. manufacturing sector is facing. The biggest winner was Boeing (BA), with aircraft orders up 51 percent. For the complete data click here.
