Economic Update: Orders For Durable Goods

The Commerce Department reported that orders for Durable Goods (items expected to last longer than a year) fell 1.0 percent during the month of May which was below the consensus expectations for a drop of 0.2 percent. The decline was attributed mainly to a sharp drop in the Pentagon's demand for military hardware. The May reading was below April's revised reading of +0.8 percent (from +0.6 percent). Prior readings for comparison: March: +3.6 percent, February: +2.1 percent, January 2014: -1.3 percent, December: -5.3 percent, November: +2.6 percent, October: -0.7 percent, September: +4.1 percent, August: +0.1 percent, July: -8.1 percent, June: +3.9 percent, May: +5.2 percent, April: +3.5 percent, March: -5.9 percent, February: +4.3 percent, January 2013: -3.8 percent. When you strip out the volatile data for transportation, orders fell by 0.1 percent which was below the consensus for 0.0 percent and below last month's unrevised level of +0.8 percent. Prior readings for comparison: March: +2.9 percent, February: +0.1 percent, January 2014: +0.9 percent, December: -1.9 percent, November +0.1 percent, October: +0.7 percent, September: +0.2 percent, August: -0.4 percent, July: -0.5 percent, June: +0.1 percent, May: +1.0 percent, April: +1.7 percent, March: -1.7 percent, February: -1.7 percent, January 2013: +2.9 percent. The proxy for capital investment rose in May, coming in at +0.4 percent versus the -1.1 percent seen in April. Note that this is a very volatile data series and each report is subject to significant revisions.