New orders for all durable goods were up 5.7 percent in February over Januaryâ??s level. New orders for core capital goods were down 2.7 percent for the month.
New orders for core capital goods in February were 1.1 percent off from their year-ago level.
Additional detail:
- Despite the overall drop in new orders for core capital in February, several components continued to see increases in new orders. Motor vehicles and parts saw orders increase by 3.8 percent in February, while orders for computers and electronic products gained 1.3 percent.
- New orders for fabricated metal products fell by 4.4 percent in February, while orders for machinery dropped 2.2 percent; this decline follows an almost 16 percent month-to-month increase in new orders for machinery in January.
- New orders for defense goods and aircraft and parts are excluded from the "core capital" figure because of their unusual volatility. In February, for example, new orders for nondefense aircraft and parts skyrocketed 95 percent, while new orders for defense capital goods surged 68 percent. This is, in large part, why the headline gain of 5.7 percent was significantly higher than the "core capital" new orders figure, which showed a decline of 2.7 percent.