The latest durable goods report came out on Wednesday and showed that orders were slightly down in October. Overall, the number of durable goods has been rising steadily this year, if you strip out defense spending and the volatile transportation category.

A durable good is an expensive, long-lasting piece of equipment — like an appliance, a computer or a metalworking tool. So if you’re going to shell out the money for one?

“More than likely you’re pretty confident in your overall economic environment,” said Chad Moutray, chief economist with the National Association of Manufacturers.

So far this year, durable goods orders have hovered around their pre-pandemic level. That’s a sign companies still feel comfortable spending on them, according to Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide.

“In other words, the economy is still expanding and doing quite well,” she said.

But companies aren’t loading up on durable goods either. For one, next year’s economy is uncertain. Plus, companies tend to borrow for these purchases, and interest rates are pretty high right now.

“Let’s say the Fed had to raise rates another time or so,” said Bostjancic. “All of that weighs on corporate leaders’ decisions as they allocate money towards investment.”

Bostjancic added that if durable goods orders slow down, so will the economy.