> Orders placed with US factories for business equipment declined in April by the most since October, suggesting a diminishing appetite to invest amid uncertainty about tariffs and tax policy. The value of core capital goods orders, a less-volatile proxy for investment in equipment that excludes aircraft and military hardware, decreased 1.3% last month after an upwardly revised 0.3% gain in March, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday. Such shipments fell 0.1%. Bookings for all durable goods — items meant to last at least three years — fell 6.3%, on a pullback in orders for commercial aircraft.
> The report underscores caution among businesses as they assess the outlook for demand and focus on cost-cutting in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s trade policy. Companies are also awaiting clarity on tax legislation being debated in Congress. Because orders can be canceled, the government uses data on shipments as an input to gross domestic product, which reflect when a payment has been made. Capital goods shipments rose 3.2%, including defense and commercial aircraft, after a 1% decline in March.
> Before the durables report, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast penciled in an almost 0.4 percentage point contribution from business equipment spending for the second quarter. Equipment investment added more than a percentage point to first-quarter GDP, the most since 2020 and fueled by aircraft.
> The Commerce Department’s report showed bookings for commercial aircraft, which are volatile from month to month, slumped 51.5% after rising in April. Boeing Co. said it received only eight orders in April, the fewest since May 2024. That was down from 192 March orders that were the most since 2023. Aircraft orders are volatile and the government data don’t always correlate with the planemaker’s monthly figures.
1 Comment
> Orders placed with US factories for business equipment declined in April by the most since October, suggesting a diminishing appetite to invest amid uncertainty about tariffs and tax policy. The value of core capital goods orders, a less-volatile proxy for investment in equipment that excludes aircraft and military hardware, decreased 1.3% last month after an upwardly revised 0.3% gain in March, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday. Such shipments fell 0.1%. Bookings for all durable goods — items meant to last at least three years — fell 6.3%, on a pullback in orders for commercial aircraft.
> The report underscores caution among businesses as they assess the outlook for demand and focus on cost-cutting in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s trade policy. Companies are also awaiting clarity on tax legislation being debated in Congress. Because orders can be canceled, the government uses data on shipments as an input to gross domestic product, which reflect when a payment has been made. Capital goods shipments rose 3.2%, including defense and commercial aircraft, after a 1% decline in March.
> Before the durables report, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast penciled in an almost 0.4 percentage point contribution from business equipment spending for the second quarter. Equipment investment added more than a percentage point to first-quarter GDP, the most since 2020 and fueled by aircraft.
> The Commerce Department’s report showed bookings for commercial aircraft, which are volatile from month to month, slumped 51.5% after rising in April. Boeing Co. said it received only eight orders in April, the fewest since May 2024. That was down from 192 March orders that were the most since 2023. Aircraft orders are volatile and the government data don’t always correlate with the planemaker’s monthly figures.