U.S. Durable-Goods Orders Drop 9.3% as Aircraft Surge Reverses

U.S. factory demand contracted in June as new orders for durable goods fell 9.3% from the prior month, the Commerce Department’s preliminary estimate showed Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a 10.7% decline after May’s outsized 16.4% surge that was fueled by a wave of commercial aircraft bookings. Excluding the volatile transportation category, orders edged up 0.2%, slightly above the 0.1% consensus, suggesting underlying demand for long-lasting goods is holding up despite higher borrowing costs and slowing economic growth. Bookings for core capital goods—non-defense equipment excluding aircraft, a proxy for business investment—slipped 0.7%, reversing a 1.7% gain in May and missing expectations for a flat reading. Shipments of this category, which feed directly into GDP calculations, increased 0.4%, twice the forecast pace. The mixed report points to cooling momentum in headline demand while pockets of business spending remain resilient, setting the stage for economists to reassess second-quarter growth estimates ahead of next week’s advance GDP release.