Durable Goods Orders Disappoint in September

Durables orders notably disappointed in September after August's decline after a July surge. The core was soft in September but volatile (as usual) in recent months. New factory orders for durables decreased 1.3 percent in September after dropping 18.3 percent in August and spiking 22.5 percent in July. Analysts projected a 0.9 percent rise for September. Transportation dipped 3.7 percent after falling a monthly 42.4 percent in August.

Excluding transportation, durables orders slipped 0.2 percent, following a rebound of 0.7 percent in August. Expectations were for a 0.5 percent gain.

The latest durables report suggests softening in the manufacturing sector. The usual caveat still applies-durables orders are very volatile on a monthly basis.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Durable goods orders fell back in August, coming off July's surge in aircraft orders. But the core was healthy in August. New factory orders for durables dropped a monthly 18.4 percent, following a spike of 22.5 percent in July. For the historical series, August was a record monthly decline and July was a record increase. Transportation fell a monthly 42.2 percent in August, following a 73.3 percent jump the month before. Excluding transportation, durables orders rebounded 0.4 percent, following a decline of 0.6 percent in July. Recent durables orders have shown record volatility. On average, durables orders point to modest upward momentum in manufacturing.

Numbers reflect revisions from the more recent total factory orders report.