Overview

• Commerce Department data show total durable goods orders declined 2.8% in July, driven by weakness in commercial aircraft.
• Excluding transportation, orders rose 1.1%, with non‑defense capital goods excluding aircraft up 1.1% versus a 0.2% consensus forecast.
• Shipments of core capital goods increased 0.7% in July, pointing to a positive contribution to third‑quarter equipment spending.
• Boeing recorded 31 aircraft orders in July compared with 116 in June, highlighting the sector’s outsized impact on the headline figure.
• Economists caution that tariffs and earlier front‑loading may be inflating order values through higher prices rather than sustained volume growth.