Following two monthly increases, new orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 2.4% in July, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on August 24. Excluding transportation, a category that includes autos, new orders increased half a percentage point. New Orders for non-defense capital goods not including aircraft rose 1.5% last month, a tenth of a percent more than June's 1.4%.
"The really good news in today's durable goods report is that orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aerospace were up 1.5% in July and are up 10% so far this year compared to the same period one year ago," says Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist at the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an Arlington, Va.-based business and public policy research group. "This indicates that business equipment investment is continuing to show strong growth."
