Core capital goods orders rise 5.5% YoY in November

Orders for core capital goods increased in November as favorable fiscal and monetary policies improved capital spending. 

In November, core capital goods orders, which exclude aircraft and defense equipment, totaled $78.4 billion, up 0.7% month over month and 5.5% year over year, according to the most recent Monthly Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments Inventories and Orders, released Jan. 26 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Shipments for core capital goods totaled $78.1 billion in November, up 0.4% MoM and 5.1% YoY. 

Core Capital Goods – Shipments & New Orders

Core capital goods orders and shipments continued to improve slightly toward the end of 2025, although growth expectations for 2026 remain modest, according to a Jan. 26 Wells Fargo research note. 

“Taken together, it is still a better-than-the expected outcome, but only modestly so,” according to the note. “A more supportive fiscal policy environment and a less restrictive monetary policy backdrop together ought to be fertile ground for capital spending to show growth in 2026.” 

Meanwhile, November’s new orders for durable goods totaled $323.8 billion, up 5.3% MoM and 10.5% YoY, according to the Census Bureau report. Shipments for durable goods landed at $308.7 billion, down 0.2% MoM but up 3.9% YoY. 

While the primary growth driver for durable goods remains data center-related orders, other traditional equipment segments also saw growth in November, according to the Wells Fargo note. 

“Orders for fabricated metals and machinery both showed that some of the old-line categories are seeing some action as well,” according to the note. “Favorable tax changes [provided] some support to other areas of traditional equipment investment as well around the margins.” 

Unfilled orders, total inventories  

Unfilled orders for core capital goods reached $301.5 billion in November, up 0.1% MoM and 0.8% YoY, according to the report. Additionally, combined inventory for core capital goods totaled $184.8 billion in November, up 0.1% MoM and 1.6% YoY. 

Core Capital Goods – Total Inventories & Unfilled Orders

Durable goods unfilled orders landed at $1.5 trillion in November, up 1.3% MoM and 9.3% YoY, according to the report. Durable goods total inventories were $591.7 billion in November, up 0.2% MoM and 1.5% YoY. 

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