Economy

Durable goods orders rise again in February
Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh
March 26, 2025
For the second month in a row, new orders for manufactured durable goods rose in February.
New orders gained $2.7 billion, or 0.9%, to reach $289.3 billion, the US Census Bureau found in its latest monthly report.
This followed a 3.3% boost in January.
Transportation equipment led the increase, rising 1.5% to $98.3 billion.
Excluding transportation, new orders increased by 0.7%. Excluding defense, new orders increased by 0.8%, according to the Census data.


Stephanie Ritenbaugh
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