A decline in aircraft orders resulted in a drop in factory orders. Here are five things we learned from U.S. economic data released during the week ending February 27.
Factory orders slowed in December as aircraft orders declined. New orders for manufactured goods decreased by 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted $617.5 billion, marking the second decline in three months for the Census Bureau measure. Factory orders increased by 3.7 percent in 2025 to $7.324 trillion. Transportation goods orders fell 5.4 percent during the month, mainly due to a sharp decrease in civilian aircraft orders. Orders minus transportation rose 0.4 percent. Durable goods orders declined 1.4 percent, while nondurable goods remained steady. Shipments rose 0.5 percent to $609.2 billion, growing 1.7 percent in 2025. Unfilled orders increased 0.9 percent to $1.528 trillion, while inventories expanded 0.1 percent to $949.6 billion.
Economic activity grew in January. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) increased by 39 basis points to +0.18, its strongest reading since last March. A positive CFNAI suggests that the U.S. economy is expanding at a faster rate than its historical average. Out of 85 CFNAI components, 47 contributed positively to the index while 38 had a negative effect. Among the four categories of index components, those related to production (adding 19 basis points) and employment (+0.01) provided positive contributions, sales, orders, and inventories had a minor negative impact (-0.02), and personal, consumption, and housing indices made a neutral contribution. The CFNAI’s three-month moving average increased by 23 basis points to -0.06.
Wholesale inflation picked up in January. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent, marking its biggest increase since last July. After the Bureau of Labor Statistics removes food, energy, and trade services, the core PPI measure increased 0.3 percent, matching its November and December gains. Wholesale goods prices declined by 0.3 percent, driven by lower prices for both food (-1.5 percent) and energy (-2.7 percent). Services PPI surged by 0.8 percent, with trade services mounting a 2.5 percent increase. Over the past year, the final demand PPI has risen by 2.9 percent, while the core measure has increased by 3.4 percent over the same 12 months.
Construction spending edged up in December. The Census Bureau places the seasonally adjusted annualized pace of construction put in place is $2.169 trillion, reflecting a 0.3 percent increase for the month but off 0.4 percent from a year earlier. For all of 2025, construction spending was 1.4 percent below the previous year’s pace. Private construction spending rose 0.5 percent to $1.639 trillion, including a 1.5 percent rise in residential construction and a 0.7 percent decline in nonresidential construction. Private-sector construction decreased by 2.9 percent in 2025. Public sector spending slowed by 0.5 percent in December to $523.4 billion, but was up 3.6 percent for the year.
Consumer sentiment solidified slightly in February. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index added 2.2 points to a seasonally adjusted 91.2 (1985=100). A year earlier, the index was at 100.1. The current conditions index decreased by 1.8 points to 120.0, while the expectations measure rose by 4.8 points to 72.0. 19.7 percent of survey respondents viewed current business conditions as “good,” with a nearly matching 19.0 percent saying they were “bad.” Additionally, 28.0 percent of consumers said jobs were “plentiful,” compared to 20.6 percent who feel they are “hard to get.” The press release pointed out that inflation was a prominent theme in the write-in comments.
Other U.S. economic data released over the past week:
- Jobless Claims (Week ending February 21, 2026, First-Time Claims, seasonally adjusted): 212,000 (+4,000 vs. the previous week, -31,000 vs. the same week a year earlier). 4-week moving average: 220,250 (-2.5% vs. the same week a year earlier).
- FHFA House Price Index (December 2025, Purchase-Only Index, seasonally adjusted): +0.1% vs. November 2025; +1.8% vs. December 2024.
- S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index (December 2025, National Index, seasonally adjusted): +0.4% vs. November 2025; +1.3% vs. December 2024.
- Wholesale Trade (December 2025, Merchant Wholesalers Inventories, seasonally adjusted): $918.0 billion (+0.2% vs. November 2025; +2.9% vs. December 2024).
- Agricultural Prices (January 2026, Prices Received by Farmers, not seasonally adjusted): -3.9% vs. December 2025; -10.2% vs. January 2025.
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What We Learned About the U.S. Economy Last Week 