Durable goods orders plunge in November -- biggest drop since pandemic

Following a plunge in Leading Economic Indicators (offset by the unexpectedly strong revision to GDP), US Durable Goods Orders tumbled 2.1% MoM in preliminary November data (considerably worse than the 1.0% drop expected)….

That is the biggest MoM drop since the COVID lockdowns and slowest YoY growth since Feb 2021.

Non-defense aircraft & parts fell 36.4%, while defense aircraft & parts declined 8.6%.

Non-defense capital goods shipments ex-aircraft, which feed directly into GDP calculations, declined by 0.1%.