U.S. factory orders excluding transportation strengthened in May 2026, signaling a pickup in underlying manufacturing demand. Core orders rose 1.9% month-over-month, up from a 1.3% increase in April, according to data updated on July 2, 2026.
The improvement suggests that, when volatile transportation items are stripped out, business demand for equipment and manufactured goods continued to build through late spring. On a month-over-month basis, the May reading reflects a faster pace of expansion than in April, when the 1.3% gain compared activity to March.
The comparison framework underscores that both the current and previous figures measure how much core factory orders changed from one month to the next. With consecutive monthly increases and an acceleration in May, the data point to a more solid footing for U.S. manufacturing heading into the summer.