Big-Ticket Purchases Soar 9.2% in March as Consumers Rush to Beat Tariffs on Autos and Appliances

In March, companies sped up their orders for durable goods—items expected to last a long time—in anticipation of the president’s policies. Donald Trump The Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the country has imposed stringent tariffs on goods coming from the U.S.

So-called durable goods Orders jumped by 9.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the month, an improvement from the 0.9% rise recorded in February and significantly surpassing the Dow Jones prediction of a 1.6% uptick. When excluding defense-related orders, the growth rate climbed further to 10.4%. However, when transportation items were excluded, the figure remained unchanged.

Orders for transportation equipment jumped 27%, with nondefense aircraft and parts seeing an impressive rise of 139%. This sector encompasses not only aircraft and automobiles but also products like home appliances, computers, and even jewelry.

On other economic front on Thursday, the Labor Department announced that initial claims For unemployment insurance claims increased to a seasonally adjusted total of 222,000 for the week ending on April 19, marking a rise of 6,000 from the previous week; this figure was generally as expected, aligning closely with the Wall Street estimate of 220,000.

In the realm of durable goods, the preliminary data shows a shift where manufacturers brought forward their orders due to Trump’s actions. Throughout March, he had been threatening various U.S. trade allies with tariffs until he declared "Liberation Day" levies on April 2nd. He imposed a 10% duty across all imported products along with specific charges targeting numerous nations; however, these additional fees were deferred for three months to facilitate discussions.

A Federal Reserve report released on Wednesday showed that businesses were modifying their practices to anticipate the Trump tariffs.

The economic overview, referred to as the “Beige Book,” In particular, businesses experienced growth in vehicle sales, categorized as durable goods, "typically credited to a surge in buying before anticipated price hikes due to tariffs."

The report expressed concerns regarding economic circumstances, especially considering the impact of the tariffs. It suggests that the surge in durable goods orders for March probably does not reflect the overall longer-term economic landscape.

In terms of labor, the unemployment claims report indicated that layoff rates are stable and have not increased even though Trump has been trying to reduce the number of government employees.

Along with the consistent weekly figures, continued claims, which lag one week behind, dropped to 1.84 million, marking a decline of 37,000 compared to the previous week. In Washington, D.C., initial filings decreased as well, falling to 753—a reduction of 112 from the preceding week—based on unmodified data.

This piece was initially released on The News Pulse