Durable Goods Orders

Durable goods orders is a monthly statistical release that tracks new orders placed with manufacturers for long-lasting products — items expected to serve for three years or more, such as machinery, vehicles, appliances and aircraft. Because businesses order this equipment when they plan to expand, the series is read as a gauge of investment intentions and future factory activity. The headline number is notoriously volatile, as a handful of large aircraft contracts can swing it sharply, so analysts also watch the core reading that excludes transportation. In currency markets the release feeds into the growth outlook for the economy that publishes it, most prominently the United States. Figures are compared against consensus forecasts, and revisions to prior months often matter as much as the fresh print.