The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the durable goods
orders fell 0.9 percent m-o-m in December, following an upwardly revised 3.2
percent m-o-m jump (from +2.5 percent m-o-m) in November.
Economists had forecast a 0.5 percent m-o-m decrease.
According to the report, the December decline was primarily driven by a plunge
in new orders for transportation equipment (-3.9 percent m-o-m). Meanwhile, orders for durable goods excluding transportation rose 0.4 percent
m-o-m in December, following an upwardly revised 1.1 percent m-o-m advance (from
+0.8 percent m-o-m) in the previous month, matching economists’ forecast for a
0.4 percent m-o-m increase.
Elsewhere, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a
closely watched proxy for business spending plans, were flat m-o-m last month
after a revised 0.3 percent gain m-o-m (from -0.1 percent m-o-m) in November.
Economists had called for a 0.4 percent m-o-m rise in core capital goods orders
in December. Meanwhile, shipments of these core capital goods jumped 1.3
percent m-o-m in December after a 0.4 percent m-o-m increase in November.
On a y-o-y basis, durable goods orders surged 20.9 percent, while
orders, excluding transportation, climbed 16.1 percent.