US durable goods orders plunged -9.3% mom to USD 311.8B in June, marking the steepest drop since April 2020. Still, the result was better than consensus forecasts of -11.0% mom decline. The weakness was driven almost entirely by transportation equipment, which tumbled -22.4% mom to USD 113.0B, pulling headline orders sharply lower.
Beneath the surface, however, core figures were more resilient. Orders excluding transportation rose 0.2% mom to USD 198.8B, beating the 0.1% mom forecast. Ex-defense orders slumped -9.4% mom, reinforcing the outsized drag from specific sectors.
