New orders for U.S.-manufactured durable goods declined 1.4% in February 2026 from the previous month, to $315.5 billion, deepening January’s revised 0.5% fall. This marked the third consecutive monthly decrease, a trend at odds with forward-looking indicators that had pointed to stronger demand for goods producers.
The downturn was driven largely by a 5.4% drop in orders for transportation equipment, which fell to $106.1 billion. Within this category, nondefense aircraft and parts orders plunged 28.6%, to $19.2 billion.
Stripping out transportation equipment, however, new orders edged up 0.8%. The increase was supported by gains in primary metals, up 2.2% to $28.6 billion, and in machinery, up 1.5% to $41.1 billion.
