US Core Capital Goods Orders Rise 1.6 Percent in August
Orders for US nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 1.6 percent in August to 87.6 billion dollars, US Census Bureau data showed on 25 September. Total orders for durable goods were virtually unchanged at 338.6 billion dollars, after rising 0.9 percent in July, as a 0.6 percent fall in transportation equipment offset gains elsewhere.
Orders outside transportation keep rising
Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.3 percent to 224.5 billion dollars, and excluding defense they rose 0.1 percent. Shipments of core capital goods rose 0.6 percent to 85.0 billion dollars. On our calculation, core orders ran 2.6 billion dollars ahead of core shipments in August. Before seasonal adjustment, durable goods orders for January to August totalled 2,638.9 billion dollars, up 7.7 percent on the same period of 2025.
| Measure, August 2026 | Level | Change on July |
|---|---|---|
| Durable goods orders | 338.6 billion dollars | Virtually unchanged |
| Excluding transportation | 224.5 billion dollars | +0.3% |
| Core capital goods orders | 87.6 billion dollars | +1.6% |
| Core capital goods shipments | 85.0 billion dollars | +0.6% |
Seasonally adjusted. Core capital goods are nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.
New home sales
Sales of new single family houses rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000 in August, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said on 24 September. That is 6.4 percent above July’s 643,000, with a margin of error of plus or minus 19.5 percent, and 2.0 percent below August 2025. The median sales price was 393,700 dollars, 0.4 percent above July and 5.8 percent below a year earlier. The 483,000 new houses for sale at the end of August represent 8.5 months of supply at the current sales rate, down from 9.0 months in July.
Why it matters: On our reading, the 1.6 percent rise in core capital goods orders, alongside a 0.6 percent increase in shipments, suggests business equipment demand remained firm in August. New home sales were estimated to rise 6.4 percent from July and the median price to stand 5.8 percent below a year earlier, but both changes were within their reported margins of error.
Outlook: The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases the third estimate of second quarter GDP and personal income and outlays for August on 30 September.
Sources: US Census Bureau, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
