Durable-goods orders surge in February on strong demand for autos

Orders for durable goods posted the biggest increase in February since last summer in the what’s likely to be the last good report for a while in light of the toll the coronavirus has taken on the U.S. economy.

Orders for durable goods jumped 1.2% last month, mostly because of big increase in bookings for new autos. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast no change.

Excluding transportation, durable-goods orders dipped 0.6% in February, the government said Wednesday. Durable goods are products made to last at least three years.

What happened: Orders rose nearly 2% for new cars and trucks, generating basically all of the increase in February. That was the largest gain in eight months.

Bookings also rose for appliances and electrical components.

Yet orders fell for primary metals, fabricated-metal parts, machinery, computers and networking gear.

A closely followed measure of business investment dropped 0.8%. Investment has been weak for a while and likely to tumble for at least the next few months as the nation struggles to contain the coronavirus.

Big picture: The decline in orders in February for most products aside from autos might be a hint of what is to come. Orders and investment in most industries are expected to decline sharply if the U.S. sinks into recession as widely expected.

Most economists don’t expect a recovery to begin until mid-summer at the earliest, but it will depend on how well the U.S. and governments around the world limit the viral outbreak.