New orders for US manufactured goods rose 1.8% month over month in September 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in August and beating market expectations for a 1.2% gain. This was the strongest monthly advance in factory orders since April, driven largely by a 4.6% rise in transportation equipment. Within that category, orders for civilian aircraft and parts surged 28.3%, while orders for defense aircraft and parts climbed 5.8%. Motor vehicle orders were little changed, edging up 0.1%, and orders for ships and boats fell sharply by 9.9%.
Outside transportation, demand strengthened across several key categories: machinery orders increased 1.5%, computers and electronic products 0.8%, fabricated metal products 0.5%, and primary metals 0.4%. In contrast, orders for electrical equipment, appliances, and components slipped 0.3%. Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 1.3%, and excluding defense, they increased 2.0%, indicating broad-based resilience in US manufacturing demand.
