The Census Bureau dropped shipments and new orders data for durable goods — things like tractors, computers and power tools. The number that made headlines was core capital goods orders — which increased in July by 1.1%, indicating that businesses are indeed making investments.

When professor Zac Rogers at Colorado State University was asked what to make of today’s durable goods data, he said it’s like taking a class. 

“It's really difficult to understand how you're doing when you don't know how you're being graded,” said Rogers.

Just like his new students, importers need to know what the expectations are in order to succeed.

“Right now, the syllabus is changing every couple weeks for importers so it’s difficult to know how well they’re doing,” Rogers said.

It’s also hard to know if this durable goods data should be taken to the bank.

“The general upshot on this is cautious optimism,” said Tom Goldsby with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

He said part of what’s complicating the data is that businesses have been making orders far in advance, trying to get ahead of tariffs.  

“We're operating on top such a period of incredibly inflated numbers already given the tariff-induced front in loading of inventory,” Goldsby said.

There is potential for distortion with lots of fluctuations with import orders.

“Even though the order books have gone up and down following the tariff regime, the shipment numbers of the goods companies have actually shipped out have been steady,” said Hitendra Chaturvedi with Arizona State University. 

There’s plenty of sector-level trends to keep in mind, said Jason Miller with Michigan State University. Consider the build out of data centers. 

“That includes computers and electronic products and components, as well as electrical equipment. And so those sectors are doing fairly well,” Miller said.

While other sectors, he said, like agricultural equipment are weaker.

Correction (August 27, 2025): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Zac Rogers' university affiliation.