New orders for American-made goods increased by 2.7% during November, according to figures published Jan. 29 by the Census Bureau.

Totalling $621.6 billion, November’s figure followed a 1.2% slide in October and was the biggest gain since an 8.3% jump in May 2025, and topped economists’ consensus expectations of a 1.6% monthly increase.

November U.S. manufactured goods orders: Month-over-Month

The biggest driver of November’s gain was in always volatile aircraft orders, as nondefense aircraft and parts orders had a near doubling in orders. That pushed the report’s transportation equipment category up 14.7% month-over-month and broader durable goods segment to a 5.3% gain. Nondurable goods orders were flat in November after a -0.3% October decrease.

When stripping out the aircraft factor, nondefense capital goods orders improved 0.4% during November. That figure was revised downward from a preliminary 0.7% gain.

On a year-to-date basis, total factory orders through November were up 3.4% vs. 2025, with durable goods up 7.3% and nondurable down 0.3%.

Monthly shipments of overall factory goods ticked down 0.1% during November after a 0.1% October rise, with durable down 0.3% and (+0.5 in Oct.) and nondurable flat (-0.3% in Oct.).

Unfilled orders increased 1.4% during November (+1.4% for durable); the unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio moved up to 7.04 from 6.93 in October; inventories edged up 0.1% to $984.4 billion (flat in Oct.); and the inventories-to-shipments ratio of 1.56 was unchanged from October.

U.S. manufactured durable goods orders: Month-over-Month

The chart below shows the Bureau’s November data for seasonally adjusted manufactured goods orders data of monthly order values and their percent change vs. the previous two months. Click on the chart for a hi-res view.