New orders for real durable goods totaled $244,515 million in February 2021. February’s orders were just 0.5% more than one year ago; however, February was the fourth straight month of month-over-month growth in durable good new orders. The result was that the annual rate of change contracted 7.6%, which was a slightly faster rate of contraction than January. 

Notable results from key industries or segments include:

• total capital goods new orders grew month-over-month for the third time in four months
• household appliances new orders grew more than 20% month-over-month for the third straight month and grew for the ninth consecutive month
• construction materials new orders grew for the sixth month in a row
• HVAC new orders grew 12.6%, which was the fastest rate since January 2019
• construction machinery new orders grew more than 14% for the third time in four months
• aerospace new orders grew 31.3%, which was the first month of growth since July 2019

Consumer durable goods spending is growing extremely fast, with month-over-month growth faster than 9% for nine months in a row. Consumer durable goods spending is confirming a bottom in the rate of contraction in durable goods new orders has occurred. 

Accelerating Growth: appliances, computers/electronics, HVAC

Decelerating Growth: 

Accelerating Contraction: durable goods, motor vehicles/parts, oil/gas-field/mining machinery, ship/boat building, total capital goods

Decelerating Contraction: aerospace, construction materials, fabricated metal products, machinery/equipment, ​​​​off-road/construction machinery, power generation, primary metals