Source: Economics Group of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Summary
Despite a headline decline in July, durable goods orders is the first unambiguously positive development in months for the manufacturing sector. After accounting for pullbacks in aircraft and defense spending, there were broad-based gains in orders.This Isn’t Just Tech-Related Spend
A headline decline of 2.8% was smaller than the 3.8% drop that was the consensus expectation. A separately reported drop in Boeing orders foreshadowed the second consecutive decline in aircraft orders; the July drop of 32.7% was smaller than the June decline. Defense spending also fell for a second straight month.