Durable Goods Shipments Grow by a Robust 1.3 Percent in May

New durable goods orders also increase, suggesting shipments will continue to rise near-term.

Both Orders and Shipments have registered double-digit gains year-over-year, by 10.6 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, although the pace has been slowing for the past few months.
The value of shipments has increased by 26 percent since 2010, but sector employment has risen by just 7 percent.
The Manufacturing sector lost 1.36 million jobs during the pandemic shutdown, and despite recovering nearly two-thirds of them, are still more than half a million jobs below pre-pandemic levels.
The largest gains among the six major durable goods categories tracked are for Primary Metals and Transportation, up 21 percent and 16 percent, respectively, with Transportation accounting for nearly a third of all durable goods orders.
Total Machinery shipments registered the next highest gains, up 15 percent from last year.
Computers & Electronic Equipment shipments posted the smallest annual increase with a gain of 6 percent.