Durable Goods Orders

Durable goods orders measure the dollar value of new orders placed with US manufacturers for goods designed to last three years or more, such as automobiles, aircraft, appliances and machinery, published monthly by the US Census Bureau's Advance Report on Durable Goods. Because a core measure that excludes the highly volatile transportation category, particularly aircraft orders which swing sharply from month to month, strips out much of that noise, economists typically focus on core durable goods orders (excluding transportation) and on nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft as a leading indicator of business investment spending.