US durable goods orders up 4.8 per cent in October
WASHINGTON — Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods increased in October by the largest amount in a year, reflecting a surge in demand for commercial airplanes. The category that tracks business investment spending showed a far more modest advance, indicating this key category remains under stress.
Orders for durable goods rose 4.8 per cent in October, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That is the best showing since a similar advance in October 2015. The gain primarily reflected a 94.1 per cent jump in demand for commercial airplanes, an extremely volatile category.
The category that tracks business investment plans was up a slight 0.4 per cent, erasing only a small part of a 1.4 per cent plunge in September. Business investment spending has been a drag on the economy this year, reflecting in part big cutbacks in the energy sector.
So far this year, orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft — the category used to track business investment — are down 4 per cent from the same period in 2015. This weakness in investment has held back overall growth this year.