New orders and shipments of key U.S.-made capital goods increased solidly in August amid strong demand for computers and electronic products, keeping business spending on equipment on track for another quarter of robust growth.
The sustained strength in business investment is expected to limit the hit on economic growth from an anticipated slowdown in consumer spending as the boost from fiscal stimulus fades. Demand for goods is being driven by businesses desperate to replenish inventories, depleted in the first half of the year.