FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2012, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (12)-10 

CB12-221

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders 

October 2012 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

October increased slightly to $216.9 billion, the U.S. 

Census Bureau announced today. This increase, up five 

of the last six months, followed a 9.2 percent September 

increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 

1.5 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 

0.1 percent. 

 

 Machinery, up two consecutive months, had the largest 

increase, $0.9 billion or 2.9 percent to $30.9 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in October, 

down two of the last three months, decreased $1.2 

billion or 0.6 percent to $222.2 billion. This followed a 

0.5 percent September increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also down two of the last 

three months, had the largest decrease, $0.8 billion or 

1.3 percent to $63.5 billion. This followed a 0.7 percent 

September increase. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

October, up four of the last five months, increased $2.3 

billion or 0.2 percent to $982.5 billion. This increase 

followed a 0.1 percent September increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up four of the last five 

months, had the largest increase, $2.9 billion or 0.5 

percent to $576.6 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in October, 

up thirty-three of the last thirty-four months, increased 

$1.6 billion or 0.4 percent to $374.4 billion. This was at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.2 percent 

September increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up thirty-three of the 

last thirty-four months, had the largest increase, $1.2 

billion or 1.0 percent to $113.9 billion. This was also at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in October 

increased $0.5 billion or 0.8 percent to $71.6 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.3 billion or 0.5 percent to $69.9 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $1.7 billion or 0.3 

percent to $583.4 billion. Inventories increased $0.6 

billion or 0.4 percent to $173.4 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in October 

decreased $0.6 billion or 7.1 percent to $7.8 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.2 billion or 2.4 percent to $8.4 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.6 billion or 0.3 

percent to $164.9 billion. Inventories decreased slightly 

or 0.2 percent to $21.0 billion. 

Revised September Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted September figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $474.0 

billion (revised from $475.4 billion); shipments, $480.6 

billion (revised from $481.3 billion); unfilled orders, 

$980.2 billion (revised from $981.0 billion); and total 

inventories, $615.6 billion (revised from $615.7 billion). 

Figures in text are adjusted for seasonality, but not for inflation. Figures on new and unfilled orders exclude data for 

semiconductor manufacturing. For data, call (301) 763-4673 or go to <http://www.census.gov/m3>.

Revised and more detailed estimates, plus nondurable goods data, will be published on December 5, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The advance report on durable goods for November is scheduled for release on December 24, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. EST. See back page 

for survey description. To receive the latest updates on the Nation's key economic indicators, download the America's Economy 

app for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. 
 2

Table 1. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders 1

[Estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey.]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item Percent

Oct Sep Aug Sep - Aug - Jul - Oct Sep Oct Change

2012 2 2012 r 2012 Oct 2 Sep r Aug 2012 2 2012 r 2011 2012 2011 12/11

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 222,214 223,455 222,397 -0.6 0.5 -2.9 232,429 230,054 219,047 2,247,721 2,092,597 7.4

 New Orders4

.............................. 216,948 216,900 198,693 0.0 9.2 -13.1 221,207 223,019 210,041 2,178,240 2,076,971 4.9

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 158,666 159,090 158,503 -0.3 0.4 -0.7 165,155 162,777 157,487 1,608,433 1,516,343 6.1

 New Orders4

.............................. 150,517 148,338 145,822 1.5 1.7 -2.0 152,916 151,280 153,110 1,529,811 1,484,858 3.0

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 211,336 212,608 211,535 -0.6 0.5 -3.2 222,053 217,968 209,244 2,141,049 1,981,545 8.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 206,002 205,871 189,789 0.1 8.5 -12.3 212,477 210,521 202,477 2,074,554 1,960,298 5.8

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 157,047 157,167 156,043 -0.1 0.7 -2.3 160,054 162,866 151,403 1,579,245 1,477,551 6.9

 New Orders.............................. 159,357 158,048 139,495 0.8 13.3 -16.4 159,179 162,641 151,149 1,582,990 1,530,121 3.5

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 27,859 28,227 28,029 -1.3 0.7 -0.4 28,346 27,834 27,013 290,005 253,005 14.6

 New Orders.............................. 28,436 27,957 26,908 1.7 3.9 -2.5 28,573 26,583 26,514 284,068 251,971 12.7

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 27,238 27,221 27,239 0.1 -0.1 0.3 28,873 27,947 27,743 278,147 265,670 4.7

 New Orders.............................. 27,316 27,024 27,421 1.1 -1.4 -0.9 28,103 27,369 27,510 282,333 271,353 4.0

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 32,211 32,226 32,458 0.0 -0.7 -1.1 32,835 32,677 30,154 323,433 295,784 9.3

 New Orders.............................. 30,855 29,991 27,778 2.9 8.0 -6.1 31,672 29,572 33,983 313,534 324,363 -3.3

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 28,057 28,088 27,439 -0.1 2.4 -3.5 30,179 30,014 29,763 281,606 282,757 -0.4

 New Orders.............................. 20,509 20,335 20,428 0.9 -0.5 -4.0 19,449 24,060 21,758 214,130 214,589 -0.2

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,461 2,707 2,669 -9.1 1.4 -9.1 2,385 3,421 3,490 27,166 30,239 -10.2

 New Orders.............................. 2,478 2,733 2,724 -9.3 0.3 -4.4 2,402 3,447 3,491 27,216 30,126 -9.7

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,298 3,012 3,085 9.5 -2.4 3.0 3,066 3,535 2,829 30,411 32,088 -5.2

 New Orders.............................. 3,116 2,796 2,981 11.4 -6.2 -8.6 2,992 3,937 3,467 33,205 31,504 5.4

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,756 9,768 9,887 -0.1 -1.2 -0.6 9,968 10,288 9,773 99,779 97,310 2.5

 New Orders.............................. 9,798 9,416 9,815 4.1 -4.1 2.6 10,024 9,632 10,106 99,609 100,350 -0.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 63,548 64,365 63,894 -1.3 0.7 -8.0 67,274 67,277 61,560 639,288 576,254 10.9

 New Orders.............................. 66,431 68,562 52,871 -3.1 29.7 -33.7 68,291 71,739 56,931 648,429 592,113 9.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 42,197 43,006 43,516 -1.9 -1.2 -11.7 47,226 43,514 43,254 437,552 389,682 12.3

 New Orders.............................. 41,990 42,679 43,497 -1.6 -1.9 -11.7 46,944 43,331 43,145 435,759 389,123 12.0

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 10,406 10,425 9,177 -0.2 13.6 -5.9 9,499 11,392 8,273 93,118 76,550 21.6

 New Orders.............................. 13,815 14,667 533 -5.8 2,651.8 -97.2 12,356 15,638 6,102 110,910 91,216 21.6

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,517 4,454 4,587 1.4 -2.9 5.9 4,158 5,204 3,968 44,991 44,671 0.7

 New Orders.............................. 5,674 5,930 4,490 -4.3 32.1 -1.4 5,006 6,499 3,649 47,000 46,426 1.2

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 33,545 33,560 33,451 0.0 0.3 1.2 34,954 34,017 33,041 335,463 321,817 4.2

 New Orders.............................. 33,603 33,615 33,472 0.0 0.4 1.1 35,095 34,064 33,239 336,137 322,232 4.3

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 78,227 78,758 77,324 -0.7 1.9 -1.8 77,805 83,103 74,458 778,590 736,558 5.7

 New Orders.............................. 79,361 79,422 63,861 -0.1 24.4 -25.8 76,920 84,446 74,301 789,324 783,766 0.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 69,871 70,196 69,199 -0.5 1.4 -1.8 69,789 73,694 66,796 695,937 647,671 7.5

 New Orders.............................. 71,566 71,027 57,756 0.8 23.0 -23.9 71,086 74,988 68,891 709,887 689,346 3.0

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 62,601 62,864 63,065 -0.4 -0.3 -1.1 63,175 65,897 61,528 634,648 602,645 5.3

 New Orders.......................... 61,054 60,044 60,305 1.7 -0.4 0.3 61,795 63,100 66,456 632,500 632,549 0.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,356 8,562 8,125 -2.4 5.4 -1.5 8,016 9,409 7,662 82,653 88,887 -7.0

 New Orders.............................. 7,795 8,395 6,105 -7.1 37.5 -40.0 5,834 9,458 5,410 79,437 94,420 -15.9

r

 Revised data due to late receipts and concurrent seasonal adjustment.

1

 Estimates of shipments and new orders are for the duration of the period, while estimates of unfilled orders and total inventories are for the end of the period. Not seasonally adjusted estimates of 

shipments and new orders include adjusted data for non-calendar reporters. Seasonally adjusted estimates include concurrent adjustments for holiday and trading-day differences, where appropriate, 

as well as seasonal variation, based on the results of the latest annual review of the model parameters. Estimates are not adjusted for price changes

2 Based on advance sample. Estimates of manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders are subject to survey error and revision. One major component of survey error is nonsampling error, which

includes errors of coverage, response and nonreporting. Since the survey panel is not a probability sample, estimates of sampling error cannot be calculated. For further details on survey design,

methodology, and data limitations, see http://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3.

3

 The Capital Goods Industries include Nondefense : small arms and ordnance; farm machinery and equipment; construction machinery; mining, oil, and gas field machinery; industrial machinery; vending

laundry, and other machinery; photographic equipment; metalworking machinery; turbines and generators; other power transmission equipment; pumps and compressors; material handling equipment; all 

other machinery; electronic computers; computer storage devices; other computer peripheral equipment; communications equipment; search and navigation equipment; electromedical, measuring, and 

control instruments; electrical equipment; other electrical equipment, appliances, and components; heavy duty trucks; aircraft; railroad rolling stock; ships and boats; office and institutional furniture; and 

medical equipment and supplies.

 Defense Capital Goods include : small arms and ordnance, communications equipment, aircraft; missiles, space vehicles, and parts, ships and boats, and search and navigation equipmen

4 Estimates of shipments for the semiconductor industry are no longer shown separately. Estimates and percent changes of shipments and inventories for the semiconductor industry are included 

 in computers and electronic products, and all other applicable aggregate totals. Estimates and percent changes for new orders and unfilled orders exclude semiconductor industry data. 
 3

Table 2. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders and Total Inventories 1

[Estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey.]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item Change

Oct Sep Aug Sep - Aug - Jul - Oct Sep Oct 2012/

2012 2 2012 r 2012 Oct 2 Sep r Aug 2012 2 2012 r 2011 2011

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 982,495 980,185 979,304 0.2 0.1 -1.7 969,668 970,543 928,844 4.4

 Total Inventories....................... 374,443 372,825 371,952 0.4 0.2 0.6 374,434 371,073 355,734 5.3

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 405,856 406,429 409,745 -0.1 -0.8 -1.3 399,861 401,753 398,716 0.3

 Total Inventories....................... 260,572 260,112 259,762 0.2 0.1 0.2 260,254 258,802 252,520 3.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 792,530 790,288 789,589 0.3 0.1 -1.8 783,139 782,368 738,270 6.1

 Total Inventories....................... 348,683 347,053 345,628 0.5 0.4 0.5 348,657 345,460 329,703 5.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 982,495 980,185 979,304 0.2 0.1 -1.7 969,668 970,543 928,844 4.4

 Total Inventories....................... 303,683 302,314 301,397 0.5 0.3 0.6 303,616 300,888 287,236 5.7

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 31,989 31,412 31,682 1.8 -0.9 -3.4 30,065 29,838 32,116 -6.4

 Total Inventories....................... 34,660 34,290 34,105 1.1 0.5 0.0 34,304 34,332 34,832 -1.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 82,927 82,849 83,046 0.1 -0.2 0.2 81,557 82,327 77,083 5.8

 Total Inventories....................... 46,260 46,082 45,966 0.4 0.3 0.2 46,015 45,986 44,936 2.4

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 126,326 127,682 129,917 -1.1 -1.7 -3.5 124,563 125,726 131,505 -5.3

 Total Inventories....................... 66,994 67,006 66,997 0.0 0.0 0.6 66,789 66,363 61,392 8.8

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 136,450 136,422 136,739 0.0 -0.2 0.1 135,862 136,245 130,940 3.8

 Total Inventories....................... 46,344 46,555 46,503 -0.5 0.1 0.1 46,753 46,214 46,176 1.2

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,206 1,189 1,163 1.4 2.2 5.0 1,206 1,189 1,151 4.8

 Total Inventories....................... 3,806 3,786 3,939 0.5 -3.9 -1.5 3,895 3,759 4,200 -7.3

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 33,344 33,526 33,742 -0.5 -0.6 -0.3 33,755 33,829 31,818 6.1

 Total Inventories....................... 8,427 8,609 8,553 -2.1 0.7 -0.2 8,531 8,501 9,052 -5.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 20,796 20,754 21,106 0.2 -1.7 -0.3 20,558 20,502 20,169 1.9

 Total Inventories....................... 15,599 15,530 15,435 0.4 0.6 -0.2 15,523 15,253 15,048 3.2

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 576,639 573,756 569,559 0.5 0.7 -1.9 569,807 568,790 530,128 7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 113,871 112,713 112,190 1.0 0.5 1.5 114,180 112,271 103,214 10.6

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 15,897 16,104 16,431 -1.3 -2.0 -0.1 15,325 15,607 15,984 -4.1

 Total Inventories....................... 25,582 25,264 25,155 1.3 0.4 0.9 25,815 25,226 24,601 4.9

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 407,213 403,804 399,562 0.8 1.1 -2.1 403,549 400,692 356,220 13.3

 Total Inventories....................... 61,986 61,183 60,259 1.3 1.5 2.0 61,956 60,833 53,245 16.4

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 62,870 61,713 60,237 1.9 2.5 -0.2 61,365 60,517 57,892 6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 13,162 13,167 13,615 0.0 -3.3 2.0 13,266 13,254 12,958 2.4

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,368 7,310 7,255 0.8 0.8 0.3 7,256 7,115 6,903 5.1

 Total Inventories....................... 50,715 50,649 50,756 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 50,870 50,654 50,136 1.5

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 748,330 747,196 746,532 0.2 0.1 -1.8 740,180 741,065 701,423 5.5

 Total Inventories....................... 194,435 193,826 193,524 0.3 0.2 0.9 194,743 192,466 180,710 7.8

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 583,420 581,725 580,894 0.3 0.1 -1.9 578,065 576,768 534,360 8.2

 Total Inventories....................... 173,392 172,746 171,930 0.4 0.5 0.8 173,787 171,632 159,948 8.7

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 233,469 235,016 237,836 -0.7 -1.2 -1.1 231,259 232,639 231,014 0.1

 Total Inventories................... 121,531 121,463 121,424 0.1 0.0 0.3 122,083 120,557 115,560 5.6

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 164,910 165,471 165,638 -0.3 -0.1 -1.2 162,115 164,297 167,063 -3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 21,043 21,080 21,594 -0.2 -2.4 1.4 20,956 20,834 20,762 0.9

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
4 

Survey Description 

This report is compiled from results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, 

and Orders (M3) survey. This survey provides statistics on manufacturers' value of shipments, new 

orders (net of cancellations), end-of-month order backlog (unfilled orders), end-of-month total inventory 

(at current cost or market value), and inventories by stage of fabrication (materials and supplies, work-inprocess, and finished goods). The M3 includes approximately 4,300 reporting units. Units may be 

divisions of diversified large companies, large homogenous companies, or single-unit manufacturers in 89 

industry categories. Due to the small monthly sample, these 89 categories have been combined into 65 

publication levels. The survey methodology assumes that the month-to-month changes of the total 

operations of those companies in the monthly survey effectively represent the month-to-month 

movements of all establishments that make up the category. The current coverage levels in the survey 

show that reported data in the monthly survey represent approximately 60 percent of the shipments 

estimates at the total manufacturing level. Data published represent manufacturing in a calendar month. 

The data collection is based on a voluntary survey authorized by Title 13 of the United States Code. 

The data presented in this release are based on data obtained from a panel of 4,300 reporting units and 

provide an indication of the activity within the manufacturing sector. The results differ from what would 

be obtained from a complete enumeration of all manufacturing companies. In addition, a different panel 

of 4,300 companies would yield different results. The M3 panel is comprised of companies with $500 

million or more in shipments and a limited number of smaller companies. From a statistical perspective, 

the panel is not a probability sample; therefore, the sampling errors that are normally provided with 

sample surveys cannot be measured. Nonsampling errors are attributable to many sources. The use of 

company or divisional reports to estimate the monthly change for establishments is one source of 

nonsampling error. The use of primarily large companies to represent the month-to-month movement of 

all companies is another potential source. Any corrections will be published in the full report. 

Corrections received after the full report will be released in the next month’s advance report. Any 

revisions made later than two months will be reflected in the annual benchmark publication. 

Additional survey documentation can be found on our web site: http://www.census.gov/m3. 

 

2013 Release Dates for the M3 Survey 

Survey month Advance Report 

(8:30 a.m. release time) 

Full Report 

(10:00 a.m. release time) 

October 2012 November 27, 2012 December 5, 2012 

November 2012 December 24, 2012 January 4, 2013 

December 2012 January 28, 2013 February 4, 2013 

January 2013 February 27, 2013 March 6, 2013 

February 2013 March 26, 2013 April 2, 2013 

March 2013 April 24, 2013 May 3, 2013 

April 2013 May 24, 2013 June 5, 2013 

May 2013 June 25, 2013 July 2, 2013 

June 2013 July 25, 2013 August 2, 2013 

July 2013 August 26, 2013 September 5, 2013 

August 2013 September 25, 2013 October 3, 2013 

September 2013 October 25, 2013 November 4, 2013 

October 2013 November 27, 2013 December 5, 2013 

November 2013 December 24, 2013 Not available at this time