In November 2025, new orders for durable goods manufactured in the United States saw a significant uptick, rising by 5.3% compared to the previous month. This recovery follows a revised 2.1% decrease in October and surpasses market forecasts, which anticipated a 3.7% increase. The rebound was primarily driven by a notable resurgence in transportation equipment orders, which increased by 14.7% following a 6.3% decline in October. This was largely fueled by a remarkable 97.6% rise in civilian aircraft orders.
Additionally, other sectors also experienced growth: orders for electrical equipment, appliances, and components increased by 1.7% compared to a decline of 0.5% previously; fabricated metal products saw a 1.0% rise, up from 0.8%; machinery orders grew by 0.5%, slightly down from 0.6%; and orders for computers and electronic products remained steady with a 0.2% increase.
When excluding transportation, new orders grew by 0.5%, building on a 0.1% gain in October. Orders minus defense climbed significantly, rising 6.6% after a previous 1.3% decrease. Moreover, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a critical indicator of future business investment plans, advanced by 0.7%, following a 0.3% rise the month before.