Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Manufacturing

Factory Orders (M3 Full Report) — August 2026

Released October 2, 2026 · Census Bureau · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Total manufacturing new orders rose 0.1% in August 2026 to $663.5B, +8.5% from a year ago. Prior month: $662.8B. Prior periods were revised in 8 series — figures below reflect that.
New orders
$663.5B
▲ +0.1% m/m
· +8.5% y/y
Core capex
$87.6B
▲ +1.6% m/m
· +14.1% y/y
Shipments
$658.6B
▼ 0.0% m/m
· +8.5% y/y

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (8) — since last report. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
Core capital goods orders (nondefense ex aircraft) · July 2026$85.7B→$86.3B▲ +$0.6B
Durable goods ex transportation · July 2026$223.2B→$223.8B▲ +$0.6B
Durable goods orders · July 2026$339.4B→$338.7B▼ −$0.7B
Core capital goods shipments (feeds GDP equipment investment) · July 2026$84.3B→$84.5B▲ +$0.2B
Total manufacturing new orders · July 2026$663.6B→$662.8B▼ −$0.8B
Inventories · July 2026$966.9B→$967.3B▲ +$0.4B
Unfilled orders · July 2026$1,600.3B→$1,599.7B▼ −$0.6B
Total shipments · July 2026$658.8B→$658.6B▼ −$0.2B

Key figures

Headline →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total manufacturing new ordersREVISED
millions of dollars, SA — the full report, durables plus nondurables
$663.5B$662.8B▲ +$0.7B▲ +0.1%▲ +$52.0B▲ +8.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Durable goods ordersREVISED$338.5B$338.7B▼ −$0.2B▼ −0.1%▲ +$26.3B▲ +8.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Durable goods ex transportationREVISED$224.4B$223.8B▲ +$0.6B▲ +0.2%▲ +$22.6B▲ +11.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Core capital goods orders (nondefense ex aircraft)REVISED$87.6B$86.3B▲ +$1.3B▲ +1.6%▲ +$10.8B▲ +14.1%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change for index series, the level for rates and survey indexes over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.
Shipments, backlog and inventories →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total shipmentsREVISED$658.6B$658.6B▼ $0.0B▼ 0.0%▲ +$51.8B▲ +8.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unfilled ordersREVISED$1,609.6B$1,599.7B▲ +$9.9B▲ +0.6%▲ +$130.7B▲ +8.8%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
InventoriesREVISED$972.4B$967.3B▲ +$5.1B▲ +0.5%▲ +$24.7B▲ +2.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Core capital goods shipments (feeds GDP equipment investment)REVISED$85.0B$84.5B▲ +$0.5B▲ +0.5%▲ +$8.7B▲ +11.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • Core capital goods orders (nondefense ex aircraft): highest level on record (data back to January 2005).
  • Core capital goods shipments (feeds GDP equipment investment): up 11.3% from a year ago — the fastest pace since February 2022.
  • Inventories: up 2.6% from a year ago — the fastest pace since June 2023.

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-10-02 14:21 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.