The United States’ durables excluding defense indicator held unchanged in January 2026, posting a month‑over‑month gain of 0.5%, the same pace recorded in the prior month. The data, updated on 18 March 2026, show that core durable goods orders—often viewed as a gauge of underlying business investment—continued to grow at a steady clip at the start of the year.
Because both the current and previous readings stand at 0.5% on a month‑over‑month basis, the figures suggest that momentum in non-defense durable goods demand neither accelerated nor cooled between late 2025 and January 2026. The stability in this indicator may point to a consistent appetite for longer‑lasting equipment and machinery among U.S. buyers, a factor closely watched by markets for clues on the trajectory of capital spending and broader economic activity.
On a comparison-period basis, “actual” reflects the change in January 2026 relative to December 2025, while the “previous” figure captures the change in December 2025 versus November 2025. With both comparisons showing a 0.5% increase, the data portray a short-term picture of steady, if not spectacular, growth in core durable goods excluding defense.
