New factory orders data released Wednesday confirm an extraordinary surge in American defense manufacturing, with orders for defense capital goods running 53 percent above last year’s pace through the first four months of 2026 as the military works to replenish
New factory orders data released Wednesday by the Census Bureau show the enormous scale of America’s AI infrastructure buildout, with manufacturing orders for computers, networking equipment, power generation, and cooling systems all surging at double-digit rates compared to a year ago.
Year-t0-date, factory orders are up a solid 3.3 percent compared with the January through August period a year earlier.
Orders excluding transportation rise 1.1% in July, signaling resilient industrial activity
Outside the volatile transportation category, new orders rose 0.4 percent to $498.6 billion, a commonly watched proxy for underlying demand.
The decline undercuts claims by Kamala Harris that the Biden administration had sparked a manufacturing boom. In fact, manufacturing activity has been contracting for nearly two years and manufacturing jobs have fallen for three straight months.
Factory orders keep rising and orders for consumer goods are rising even faster.
Core capital goods orders were down for the second straight month in October, a signal of weakening business confidence in the economy.
The factory sector is showing signs of renewed activity despite surveys suggesting an ongoing contraction.
A much stronger than expected report adds to the evidence that manufacturing’s slump is in the rearview mirror.
Excluding transportation, manufacturing orders grew by more than expected.
Looking beyond aircraft orders, U.S. factory orders have not weakened by as much as expected despite the headwind of Fed hikes.
Core capital goods order rose 1.4 percent, suggesting business confidence.
Business investment likely fell in real terms in July.
Outside of military spending, new orders rose by less than inflation, indicating a real contraction.
A much bigger than expected increase in May.
A big jump in factory orders likely reflects prices rising more than real growth.
Orders for household appliances, however, rose.
Inflation masked an even larger contraction in manufacturing at year-end.
Durable goods orders rose by more than expected but more than all of the growth can be chalked up to rising prices.
U.S. factory orders rose 1.1 percent in March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was below the 1.3 percent increase expected by analysts but above the 0.8 percent contraction amid February’s harsh weather.
U.S. factory orders rose by a sizzling 2.6 percent in January to $509.4 billion, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday showed.
