Prior was +4.8% (revised to +5.3%)Durable doods revision for May -4.5% vs -4.5% preliminary. Durable goods in April was +8.5%Durable goods ex Transportation 1.4% versus 1.3% preliminary. Last month 1.4%Non defense capital goods ex-air +1.4% versus +1.6% preliminary. Last month -0.7%Factory orders ex tansportation 1.9% versus 1.3% priorFactory orders measure the dollar value of new orders placed with U.S. manufacturers and are one of the broader gauges of demand across the goods-producing economy. The series includes both durable goods, such as aircraft, autos, machinery and electronics, and nondurable goods, such as chemicals, food, petroleum products and paper. Because aircraft and defense bookings can swing sharply from month to month, markets often look beneath the headline at orders excluding transportation, defense, and nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft as a cleaner read on underlying business investment.The recent trend has been mixed but generally firmer than it looked through much of the post-pandemic manufacturing slowdown. In April, total factory orders rose 4.8% to $662.7 billion, the fifth increase in six months. Shipments also rose 1.0%, while unfilled orders increased 1.7% to $1.569 trillion, extending a long backlog-building trend. Inventories rose 0.3% to $959.1 billion, leaving the inventory-to-shipments ratio slightly lower at 1.50.The May durable-goods advance report showed the volatility in the series. Durable goods orders fell 4.5% after an 8.5% April jump, driven by a 14.0% decline in transportation equipment. Excluding transportation, however, durable orders rose 1.3%, suggesting the underlying manufacturing-order picture was better than the headline.The key issue for the upcoming report is whether strength outside transportation can offset aircraft-related volatility. A firm ex-transportation number would point to steady equipment demand; a broader decline would reinforce concerns that manufacturing momentum remains uneven. This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.