The Durable Goods Orders Level/Flat August 2026

(Illustrative Only)
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The durable goods orders are one assessment of the overall health of industrial manufacturing section. It tracks new orders, shipments, and backlogs. In this case it is flat. That is interesting because consumer sentiment declines, the economy is expected to be healthy, interest rates are high, and some indication that manufacturing expanding. 

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Remain Nearly Flat in August 2026

• New orders for manufactured durable goods in August were $338.6 billion, essentially unchanged from July after a 0.9% increase in July.

• Orders excluding transportation equipment increased 0.3%, suggesting modest underlying manufacturing demand despite weakness in transportation.

• Orders excluding defense increased 0.1%, indicating that the overall manufacturing picture was relatively stable when defense-related activity is removed.

• Transportation equipment orders declined 0.6%, or $0.7 billion, to $114.1 billion. Transportation has now declined in three of the past four months.

• The Census Bureau's M3 survey provides monthly information on shipments, inventories, and orders and is used as an indicator of current manufacturing activity and future business trends. The August advance report was released September 25, 2026, with the full report scheduled for October 2.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026, September 25). Monthly advance report on durable goods manufacturers' shipments, inventories and orders. U.S. Department of Commerce. Census Bureau report