US factory orders fell 1.3% in May 2026, with durable goods orders plummeting 4.5%, or $15.6 billion, to $332.1 billion. That’s the steepest decline in durable goods since June 2025, and it landed well below forecasts that had pegged the drop at roughly 1.7% to 1.8%.
The numbers, released by the US Census Bureau, paint a picture of a manufacturing sector that can’t quite decide what it wants to be. April saw durable goods orders surge 8.5% and overall factory orders climb 4.8%. One month later, the sector gave most of that back.
Transportation dragged everything down
The culprit was transportation equipment, which cratered 14%, shedding $18.5 billion in a single month. Strip out transportation, and the picture changes completely. Core durable goods orders, excluding the volatile transportation sector, actually rose 1.3%.
What the Fed is watching
