December factory orders fell 0.7%, in line with estimates

• December factory orders fell 0.7%, exactly as expected, marking the weakest read since October.
• Excluding transportation, factory orders were up 0.4%, better than expected, indicating weakness was concentrated in transportation.
• Final durable goods orders remained at -1.4% (weakest since October), but improved to +1.0% when stripping out transportation.
• New orders (non-defense, ex-air, proxy for capital spending) came in strong at 0.8%, an improvement from mid-month estimates.
• Shipments also saw a 0.1% improvement, reaching 1.0%, the strongest since September 2024 (likely 2023).

CNBC's Rick Santelli reports on December factory orders, which fell 0.7%, aligning with expectations. While the headline number was the weakest since October, underlying data, particularly when excluding the transportation sector, showed positive improvements in new orders and shipments, which Santelli characterized as 'pretty good numbers.'