U.S. orders for a closely watched measure of business investment rose sharply in August, while the prior month’s reading was revised substantially higher, providing fresh evidence that companies continued to spend on equipment despite elevated borrowing costs.
New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft often called core capital goods increased 1.6% in August from July, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s August durable goods advance report released Friday. Orders reached a seasonally adjusted $87.63 billion, up from a revised $86.26 billion in July.
That means core orders increased by about $1.37 billion in one month, an Investozora calculation using Census Bureau figures. The data are seasonally adjusted but are not adjusted for price changes, an important distinction when interpreting the strength of nominal investment demand. The report was released at 8:30 a.m. EDT on September 25 and covers August 2026.
July Was Stronger
The August gain was not the only notable development. Census revised July’s increase in core capital goods orders to 0.6%, compared with an initially reported reading that was essentially unchanged. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected August core orders to rise 0.5%, making the actual 1.6% increase considerably stronger than that forecast.
The revision matters because August’s increase now follows a stronger base rather than a flat July reading. Core orders rose from $85.76 billion in June to $86.26 billion in July and $87.63 billion in August, according to the latest Census table. Together, that represents an increase of roughly $1.87 billion, or 2.2%, over two months, according to an Investozora calculation from the seasonally adjusted Census figures.
Equipment Demand Broadens
The underlying industry data showed that the strength was not limited to one category. Machinery orders increased 1.1% in August to $45.49 billion, while orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components rose 1.1% to $19.02 billion. Orders for computers and related products increased 1.5% to $2.91 billion.
There were also areas of weakness. Fabricated metal product orders declined 1.3%, while overall computer and electronic product orders were essentially unchanged. The divergence suggests that August’s capital-spending signal was strong but not uniform across manufacturing.
That comes alongside other recent evidence of uneven factory activity. Investozora previously reported that U.S. industrial production weakened in August, making the strength in forward-looking capital-goods orders particularly notable.
Shipments Also Rise
Core capital goods shipments increased 0.6% in August to $85.00 billion, following a 1.4% July increase. Shipments are important because they are more closely connected than new orders to equipment investment recorded in gross domestic product.
The combination of rising orders and rising shipments therefore points to continued business-equipment spending entering the latter part of the third quarter, though the advance durable-goods report by itself does not establish the eventual GDP contribution.
The broader durable-goods headline was much weaker. Total new orders were virtually unchanged at $338.6 billion, after a revised 0.9% July increase. Transportation equipment orders fell 0.6% to $114.1 billion, offsetting gains elsewhere.
The contrast is significant: volatile transportation orders kept the headline measure flat even as the narrower measure associated with business capital spending accelerated. The investment data also arrive shortly after the Federal Reserve raised its target rate range to 3.75%–4.00%, leaving business spending as an important part of the broader assessment of economic demand.
The next fuller reading comes October 2 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, when Census is scheduled to publish revised and more detailed August manufacturing estimates. The September advance durable-goods report is scheduled for October 27 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
