US durable goods orders down 2.2% in December 2024

New orders for durable goods in the US fell in December 2024, due to weaker demand for transportation equipment, despite an increase in orders for defense equipment.

New orders for durable goods were down 2.2% month-on-month, or $63 billion, to $276.1 billion in December 2024, according to data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics.

This follows a 2% decline in November 2024, compared to a 0.7% increase in October. Excluding transportation equipment, total orders rose by 0.3%.

When military equipment is excluded, new orders fell by 2.4% in December, according to the data.

As for exports, shipments of durable goods rebounded by 0.9% in December 2024, after declining by 0.2% and 0.5% in the previous two months.

Total shipments excluding transportation equipment grew by 0.1%, and by 1.1% after excluding defense equipment.