September's durable goods data reveals a nuanced picture of American manufacturing resilience. While headline orders declined 0.8% month-over-month, core orders - excluding volatile transportation - increased by 0.4%, significantly outperforming consensus expectations of a 0.1% decline.

This divergence highlights the importance of looking beyond surface-level indicators. Business investment in capital equipment remains robust, suggesting continued confidence in future growth despite broader economic uncertainties.

The outperformance relative to expectations (-0.8% vs -1.1% forecast for headline numbers) indicates that manufacturing may be more resilient than many analysts anticipated, with potential positive implications for Q4 economic growth.