Machinery, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, and nondefense aircraft all hit records.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
The year 2025 was a big record year for orders of durable goods that manufactures in the US received, jumping by 7.8% from 2024 to a record $3.73 trillion. It’s hard to imagine an economic slowdown until this investment boom fizzles.
Big year-over-year increases were booked at manufacturers of machinery, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, computers and electronic products – partly driven by the buildout of AI infrastructure.
Orders for transportation equipment jumped after the drop in the prior year. And within it, nondefense aircraft orders doubled after the plunge in the prior year. All based on the delayed data released today by the Census Bureau.
Orders for electrical equipment, appliances, and components jumped by 5.1% in 2025, and by 9.1% over the past two years, to a record $212 billion.
In the five-year period of 2021-2025, orders surged by 56%, which reflects the beginning of the data center construction boom.
Industries in Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing (North American Industry Classification System, NAICS, code 335) consist of:
- Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing
- Electrical Equipment Manufacturing
- Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing
- Household Appliance Manufacturing
Orders for fabricated metal products rose by 2.5% in 2025, driven by a surge in the last seven months of the year, to a record $494 billion.
Industries in the Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing category (NAICS 332) use processes such as forging, stamping, bending, forming, machining, welding, and assembling metals into intermediate or end products, other than machinery, computers and electronics, and metal furniture.
Orders for machinery jumped by 5.0% in 2025, to a record $466 billion, more than reversing two years of declines.
Several of the subsectors below relate to the AI infrastructure buildout. Other subsectors relate to the factory construction boom of the past three years.
Industries in Machinery Manufacturing (NAICS 333) consist of:
- Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing
- Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing
- Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing
- Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
- Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing
- Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing
- Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing
Orders for computer and electronic products rose by 4.2% in 2025 to $319 billion.
Industries in computer and electronic products manufacturing (NAICS 334) consist of:
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing
- Communications Equipment Manufacturing
- Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing
- Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media
During and after the Dotcom Bust, manufacturing in the US of these products fell off a cliff as production was offshored. The dive didn’t hit bottom until 2015.
Orders for transportation equipment surged by 18.2% in 2025, to a record $1.33 trillion, after a drop in the prior year. Over the two-year period, orders surged by 11.1%.
The sector is dominated by Motor Vehicles & Parts Manufacturing, which rose to a record $796 billion (see chart further below); and by Nondefense Aircraft & Parts, which spiked to a record $317 billion (see chart further below).
The industries in Transportation Equipment Manufacturing (NAICS 336) consist of:
- Motor Vehicle Manufacturing: NAICS 3361
- Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing: NAICS 3362
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing: NAICS 3363
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing: NAICS 3364
- Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing: NAICS 3365
- Ship and Boat Building: NAICS 3366
- Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing: NAICS 3369
Orders for motor vehicles & parts rose by 1.4% in 2025 to a record $796 billion.
This is a subset of transportation equipment (above) and includes Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (NAICS 3361), Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing (NAICS 3362), and Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing (NAICS 3363).
Orders for nondefense aircraft and parts spiked by 106% in 2025, after the plunge in 2024, to a record $317 billion, finally passing the record of 2013.
Some of the aircraft manufacturers in the US build aircraft for civilian and defense use. This data here is for nondefense orders.
Commercial aircraft orders can be huge, take years before they’re delivered, and are very volatile.
The major aircraft manufacturers that produce at least some nondefense aircraft in the US include:
- Boeing
- Gulfstream Aerospace (business jets)
- Textron Aviation: Beechcraft, Cessna (business jets), Bell Helicopters
- Bombardier: business jets Learjet, Challenger
- Honda Aircraft Company (light business jets)
- Lockheed Martin: Sikorsky helicopters
Orders for all other durable goods, a catch-all category across a wide range of products, were unchanged in 2025 at $595 billion, a record shared with 2024. There has not been much growth over the past three years, after the 24% spike in 2021 and 2022:
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OMG, thanks for publishing this data.
I was told we were heading to a repeat of The Great Depression.
MW: Fed minutes reveal discussion of a possible rate hike if inflation doesn’t cool
Mr. Wolf writes: “It’s hard to imagine an economic slowdown until this investment boom fizzles.” It is the roaring twenties (1920s) afterall.
The State of the Union Feb 24: all the above.
It looks like Trump’s BBB and its direct expensing of equipment for taxes is working.
I’ve been looking for the rules but there is not much on the IRS site.