FX.co ★ Factory Orders Tick Higher as Expected

New orders for manufactured goods in the US edged up 0.1% month-over-month to $620.1 billion in January 2026, partially reversing a revised 0.4% decline in December and matching market expectations. The increase was driven by a 0.3% rise in orders for nondurable goods, which reached $298.7 billion.

Orders for durable goods were essentially flat at $321.3 billion, as gains in several categories offset weakness in transportation equipment. Orders rose for computers and electronic products (up 1.3% to $28.3 billion), machinery (up 0.2% to $40.3 billion), fabricated metal products (up 0.5% to $42.8 billion), and primary metals (up 0.7% to $27.9 billion). These increases were balanced by a 0.8% decline in transportation equipment orders to $113.5 billion, weighed down by a 23.8% drop in defense aircraft orders to $5.3 billion. Excluding transportation, overall factory orders rose 0.4%, marking a third consecutive monthly increase.