U.S. Durable-Goods Orders Rise 1.1% in July as Transportation Equipment Rebounds

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose 1.1% in July, extending the uptrend to four gains in the past five months as transportation equipment rebounded after two monthly declines. The increase lifted total orders by $3.6 billion to $339.3 billion, according to data the U.S. Census Bureau released Wednesday.

The headline gain was driven mainly by transportation equipment, but the report also showed demand outside that volatile category remained positive. Excluding transportation, durable-goods orders increased 0.4% in July. Excluding defense, they rose 1.3%, suggesting the month was not powered solely by military demand or one large aircraft booking cycle.

In its advance durable-goods report for July, the Census Bureau said transportation equipment orders increased $2.6 billion, or 2.3%, to $116.2 billion. That followed a 0.5% decline in June and a much steeper 13.5% drop in May. The July recovery brought the category back to its highest level in two months, though the month-to-month pattern still reflected the swings that often accompany large transportation orders.

Transportation equipment leads the July increase

Within transportation, motor vehicles and parts orders rose 0.9% to $73.9 billion, a modest but broad contribution to the overall gain. Nondefense aircraft and parts rose far more sharply, up 12.7% to $19.8 billion, after falling 2.9% in June and plunging 51.1% in May. Defense aircraft and parts also moved higher, rising 4.9% to $6.9 billion.

Those figures help explain why the broader transportation category swung back into positive territory. Aircraft orders are among the noisiest components in the durable-goods report, and a rebound there can have a large influence on the headline number. Even so, the July report was not just an aircraft story. Orders excluding transportation still increased, and motor-vehicle orders also improved, which points to a wider manufacturing gain than a single subsector rebound would imply.

Other industry groups were mixed. Machinery orders rose 1.2% to $44.8 billion after a 1.2% gain in June. Fabricated metal products increased 0.4% to $45.6 billion. Primary metals advanced 1.5% to $32.0 billion. By contrast, computers and electronic products slipped 1.1% to $30.7 billion, and electrical equipment, appliances and components edged down 0.4% to $18.8 billion.

On a year-to-date basis, the report still showed durable manufacturing ahead of last year even after the spring volatility in transportation orders. Total durable-goods orders for the first seven months of 2026 were up 7.6% from the same period in 2025, while shipments were up 8.4%. Transportation equipment orders were up 4.7% year to date and motor-vehicle orders were up 10.6%, indicating that July’s increase came on top of an already higher base rather than reversing a year-over-year slump.

Core business-investment gauges remain positive

One of the most closely watched lines in the monthly report is nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, often treated as a rough indicator of business equipment spending plans. That measure increased 0.2% in July to $85.9 billion. The gain was modest, but it followed a 1.7% increase in June and a 1.9% rise in May, leaving the category on a firmer near-term footing than the more volatile headline number might suggest.

Broader capital-goods orders also strengthened. Total capital-goods orders rose 1.3% to $122.1 billion, while nondefense capital-goods orders increased 2.0% to $99.1 billion. On a year-to-date basis, nondefense capital-goods orders were up 1.1% from the same period a year earlier, and orders excluding aircraft were up 10.0% year to date, according to the detailed Census tables.

That combination matters because it suggests manufacturers are still seeing enough demand to support equipment bookings even as the monthly composition shifts. A transportation rebound gave July its biggest push, but the report did not show a broader collapse elsewhere in factory demand. Instead, several industrial categories continued to post incremental gains, while a handful of technology-related segments softened.

Shipments, backlogs and inventories continue to climb

The July report also pointed to continued activity beyond new orders. Durable-goods shipments rose 1.0% to $334.7 billion after a 1.0% gain in June. Transportation shipments increased 1.3%, while shipments excluding transportation rose 0.8%. Those numbers indicate that factory output kept moving higher during the month, not just bookings.

Unfilled orders, a measure of backlogs still to be produced, increased 0.6% to $1.60 trillion. Transportation equipment accounted for the largest share of that stock, with unfilled transportation orders rising 0.5% to just over $1.0 trillion. Nondefense aircraft and parts alone carried $719.4 billion in unfilled orders, underscoring how heavily long-cycle aerospace programs shape the manufacturing backlog.

Inventories also rose. Total durable-goods inventories increased 0.4% in July to $604.4 billion, while inventories in transportation equipment edged up 0.3% and inventories excluding transportation rose 0.4%. Higher inventories can reflect preparation for future shipments, slower turnover, or a combination of both, so the figures are most useful when read alongside orders and shipments rather than in isolation.

The Census Bureau noted that the July figures are advance estimates based on a partial sample and remain subject to revision. The agency also cautioned that the estimates are not adjusted for price changes. Even with those caveats, the latest report showed U.S. manufacturing demand continuing to expand in July, with transportation equipment providing the main lift and underlying orders outside transportation still managing to move higher.