Prior to Trump’s April 2nd tariff announcement, orders for durable goods surged in March.
New manufactured orders rose 9.2% in March to $315.7 billion, compared to a 0.9% increase in February. Economists had predicted a rise of just 2%.
Transportation orders rose 27% that month, while commercial aircraft orders rose 139%. Private capital goods orders rose 29.4%.
According to the Aviation Market Research Company Center for Aviation, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported orders for 192 aircraft in March. The Singapore-based BOC ordered 50 planes, Korean Air ordered 40 planes, and Japan Air ordered 17 planes.
Excluding the transport category, durable goods were flat from February to March.
The boosted order came before President Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs on April 2nd.
Trump’s trade war currently spans 145% tariffs on Chinese imports and target tariffs on timber, automobiles, steel and aluminum.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the effective US tariff rate is currently around 25%, the highest level in over a century.
China reportedly ordered the airline not to accept Boeing Jet delivery as the US and China remain stuck in trade. The market felt optimistic about the outlook for talks between the two countries on Wednesday, but neither side has made an initial move.
Shipping industry experts said earlier this month that advanced shipments of orders were on the rise.
However, the surge is expected to fall.
“The next three weeks of the couple look decent, but this may be the end of the surge in stock buffers we’ve seen,” Los Angelesport director Jean Celoka said earlier this month.
“World trade slows as companies try to understand what this means and how they can mitigate these extraordinary costs,” he added.
