"The response of capital spending to the COVID pandemic is encouraging for the outlook for 2021."
Manufacturing has been driven by strong demand for factory goods "as 23.7% of the labor force works from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The continued improvement in the key measure of U.S. business investment suggests manufacturers are optimistic about a return to normalcy next year.
"The trend in durable goods orders remains decidedly weak" amid worries about a global growth slowdown and trade tensions.
Core capital goods orders rebounded from a sharp drop in December, suggesting the slowdown in business investment may be shallow.
"It appears the bloom is off the economic expansion rose. The data doesn’t paint a picture of strong growth going forward.”
Orders for core capital goods dropped for the second time in three months, suggesting the slowdown in business investment is continuing.
Orders for core capital goods, the proxy for business spending, ticked down for the second straight month in September.
The decline in the proxy for business spending plans "is not a red flag for the economic outlook yet even if the caution light should be left on.”
The February gain in orders was a positive sign for business spending after declines in the previous two months.
“Last year’s moonshot in business spending is showing some signs of returning to earth,” one economist says.
“These data remain consistent with a solid upswing in manufacturing activity and an acceleration in corporate capital spending."
