US Factory Orders Fall for 2nd Month

New orders for US manufactured goods fell by 1.3% from the previous month to $603.6 billion in July of 2025, extending the five-year high 4.8% plunge in the previous month and loosely aligned with market expectations of a 1.4% drop. The drop was led by a second consecutive sharp drop for orders of transportation equipment (-9.5% to $102.0 billion) amid the drop for nondefense aircraft and parts (-32.7% to $19.1 billion), as foreign airlines and companies likely slowed orders of aircraft following April's surge to front-load purchases ahead of tariffs by the US government. In turn, orders grew for machinery (1.9% to $38.9 billion), primary metals (1.6% to $27.0 billion), and computers and electronic products (0.5% to $ 26.8 billion).