The growth of orders placed with American factories for durable goods stagnated in August, casting a shadow on claims by Vice President Kamala Harris that the Biden-Harris administration’s policies have bolstered U.S. industrial strength.
Core capital goods orders, a measure which excludes volatile sectors like transportation and defense and is considered a proxy for business investment, rose by a tepid 0.2 percent last month after a 0.2 percent drop in July. Uncertainty around the November presidential election has caused businesses to pull back from investment and pause expansion plans. Employment in the manufacturing sector has declined by 34,000 jobs over the last three months, according to the Department of Labor. Manufacturing employment has been essentially stagnant for two years, despite billions of subsidies poured into the sector by the Biden-Harris administration.
Overall durable goods orders are up 4.7 percent over the past two years. Year-to-date, orders are down 1.3 percent compared with last year.Global conflict is still pumping money into the factory sector. Orders for defense capital goods rose 5.3 percent in August and orders for defense aircraft and parts rose 8.3 percent.