Durable goods

But take out the transportation sector — which has been throttled by the aviation giant's troubles — and orders rose 0.4% last month.

The measure, which also increased year over year, tracks big, one-off purchases like machinery for manufacturing.

Consumers replacing devices bought early in the pandemic and enthusiasm for AI capabilities partly account for the healthy figures.

"It's by no means anywhere near as awful as the headline number makes it look," one analyst says.

Some are doing well enough that they don't need to borrow in order to expand and improve.

Businesses don't buy 'em unless they think they need 'em.

Their volatility can overshadow broader trends. But those orders are just the start of a long, expansive manufacturing supply chain.

Order numbers are somewhat distorted by a volatile, expensive durable goods category: commercial airplanes.

This week, the Census Bureau will report how many manufactured durable goods businesses ordered in May. Many manufacturers haven't been making as many products, but certain types of equipment are still in high demand.

A burst of orders for Boeing in March juiced the durable goods data.