After a notable drop in July, orders of core capital goods (nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft) increased in August, and growth continued to accelerate on a year-over-year basis. Shipments of core capital goods also rose compared with July and were up slightly from a year-ago level. The July-August average of core capital goods shipments was below the second-quarter average, suggesting that investment in equipment and software may not have improved much in recent months following relatively weak growth in the second quarter.
