New orders for US-manufactured durable goods were largely flat month-over-month at $338.6 billion in August 2026, following two consecutive monthly increases and compared to market forecasts for a 0.4% decrease. Orders declined for transport equipment (-0.6%), namely nondefense aircraft and parts (-4.3%) and vehicles and parts (-0.6%), as well as fabricated metal products (-1.3%). Conversely, the biggest increases were seen for defense aircraft and parts (5.9%); computer and related products (1.5%); primary metals (1.2%); electrical equipment, appliances, and components (1.1%) and machinery (1.1%). Excluding transportation, durable goods orders went up by 0.3%, after a 0.7% increase in July and below the expected 0.6% gain. Meanwhile, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, grew by 1.6%, after a 0.6% increase in July and overshooting market forecasts for a 0.5% advance.