The latest data on manufactured durables and sales of new single-family homes fall into the "Yes, but" category.
Propelled by a flight of aircraft orders, new orders for manufactured durable goods increased 5.5% in May to $210.7 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported June 24. However, take away all transportation orders from the data, and new orders for durables declined two-tenths of a percent last month.
Sales of new one-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.298 million in May, 2.1% higher than the revised rate of 1.271 million for April, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported June 24. However, the April rate as originally reported was 1.316 million much stronger than it proved to be.
