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FOR RELEASE AT 8:30 AM EDT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 

MONTHLY ADVANCE REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, 

INVENTORIES AND ORDERS AUGUST 2017 

Release Number: CB 17-162 M3-1 (17)-08 

Notice: For information on the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the compilation of this report, please 

see the Frequently Asked Questions document on our website. 

September 27, 2017 — The U.S. Census Bureau announces the August advance report on manufacturers’ 

shipments, inventories and orders: 

New Orders 

New orders for manufactured durable goods in August increased $3.9 billion or 1.7 percent to $232.8 

billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This increase, up two of the last three months, followed a 

6.8 percent July decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.2 percent. Excluding defense, 

new orders increased 2.2 percent. Transportation equipment, also up two of the last three months, led the 

increase, $3.6 billion or 4.9 percent to $77.4 billion. 

Shipments 

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, up three of the last four months, increased $0.7 billion 

or 0.3 percent to $237.2 billion. This followed a 0.1 percent July increase. Machinery, up nine of the last 

ten months, led the increase, $0.3 billion or 1.1 percent to $31.4 billion. 

Unfilled Orders 

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in August, up two of the last three months, increased $0.1 

billion or virtually unchanged to $1,132.3 billion. This followed a 0.3 percent July decrease. Fabricated 

metal products, up seven of the last eight months, drove the increase, $0.5 billion or 0.6 percent to $79.3 

billion. 

DURABLE GOODS – NEW ORDERS

AUGUST 2017 $232.8 billion             +1.7%°   

JULY 2017  

(revised) $228.9 billion             ‐6.8%°

Next release: October 25, 2017

Data adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders. 

°Statistical significance is not measurable for this survey. The Manufacturers' 

Shipments, Inventories, and Orders estimates are not based on a probability 

sample, so the sampling error of these estimates cannot be measured nor can the 

confidence intervals be computed.

Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17

% Change -0.5% 6.1% -4.6% 0.3% 0.3% 1.4% 2.4% -0.8% 0.0% 6.4% -6.8% 1.7%

-7.0%

-6.0%

-5.0%

-4.0%

-3.0%

-2.0%

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

DURABLE GOODS NEW ORDERS 2016-2017

Seasonally Adjusted, Month-To-Month Percentage Change

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
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Inventories 

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in August, up thirteen of the last fourteen months, increased $1.4 

billion or 0.3 percent to $400.5 billion. This followed a 0.4 percent July increase. Machinery, up nine of 

the last ten months, led the increase, $0.6 billion or 0.8 percent to $69.0 billion. 

Capital Goods 

Nondefense new orders for capital goods in August increased $3.2 billion or 4.7 percent to $71.0 billion. 

Shipments decreased $1.1 billion or 1.5 percent to $71.6 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.6 billion or 

0.1 percent to $704.0 billion. Inventories increased $0.7 billion or 0.4 percent to $178.3 billion. Defense 

new orders for capital goods in August decreased $1.1 billion or 9.4 percent to $10.7 billion. Shipments 

increased $0.1 billion or 0.8 percent to $10.4 billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.3 billion or 0.2 percent to 

$142.6 billion. Inventories increased $0.3 billion or 1.1 percent to $23.5 billion. 

Revised July Data

Revised seasonally adjusted July figures for all manufacturing industries were: new orders, $465.9 billion 

(revised from $466.4 billion); shipments, $473.5 billion (revised from $474.3 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,132.3 billion (revised from $1,131.9 billion) and total inventories, $652.0 billion (revised from $651.6 

billion). 

Revised and more detailed estimates, plus nondurable goods data, will be published on October 5, 2017, at 

10:00 a.m. EDT. The Advance Report on durable goods for September is scheduled for release on October 

25, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing 

Room:<www.census.gov/economic-indicators/>. The full text and tables of this release can be found at 

<www.census.gov/m3>. 

EXPLANATORY NOTES 

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

data for semiconductor manufacturing. 

“Virtually unchanged” indicates that the change is less than 0.05 percent for a percent increase or decrease. 

Description of the survey 

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

and Orders (M3) survey, which is a voluntary survey authorized by Title 13 of the United States Code. This 

survey provides statistics on a calendar-month basis for 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-in-process, and 

finished goods). Data published from the M3 survey are based on a panel of approximately 5,000 reporting 

units that represent approximately 3,100 companies and provide an indication of month-to-month change for 
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the Manufacturing Sector. These reporting units may be divisions of diversified large companies, large 

homogenous companies, or single-unit manufacturers in 92 industry categories, which are combined into 65 

publication levels due to the small monthly panel size. The survey methodology assumes that the month-tomonth changes of the total operations of the reporting units in the M3 panel effectively represent the monthto-month movements of all establishments that make up the category. The companies for which shipments 

data are currently reported or imputed in the M3 survey represent approximately 64 percent of the total 

value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2012 Economic Census, and these companies 

include almost two-thirds of the manufacturing companies with $500 million or more in shipments in the 

2012 Economic Census. The companies for which shipments data are currently reported in the M3 survey 

represent approximately 57 percent of the total value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 

2012 Economic Census. Statistics based on the M3 panel differ from the results that would be obtained 

from a complete enumeration of all manufacturing companies. The M3 panel is not based on 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: 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 

API 

The Census Bureau’s application programming interface (API) lets developers create custom apps to reach 

new users and makes key demographic, socio-economic and housing statistics more accessible than ever 

before.<www.census.gov/developers/> 

###
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

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug Change

2017 2 2017 r 2017 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2017 2 2017 r 2016 2017 2016 2017/2016

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 237,199 236,513 236,311 0.3 0.1 0.0 249,200 216,232 238,237 1,875,350 1,814,814 3.3

 New Orders4

.............................. 232,798 228,910 245,705 1.7 -6.8 6.4 235,596 208,815 224,377 1,843,684 1,755,654 5.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 158,881 157,675 157,569 0.8 0.1 0.3 166,296 151,153 157,336 1,253,520 1,196,252 4.8

 New Orders4

.............................. 155,425 155,137 153,944 0.2 0.8 0.0 159,071 148,047 150,152 1,234,447 1,171,926 5.3

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 224,823 224,213 224,266 0.3 0.0 0.1 236,834 205,460 226,865 1,780,755 1,726,410 3.1

 New Orders4

.............................. 220,070 215,249 233,645 2.2 -7.9 6.4 225,273 197,797 214,327 1,752,277 1,671,128 4.9

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 166,919 167,249 166,404 -0.2 0.5 0.0 174,556 153,788 165,419 1,318,738 1,263,109 4.4

 New Orders.............................. 166,979 163,976 180,446 1.8 -9.1 9.1 165,612 150,808 156,337 1,321,691 1,236,012 6.9

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 19,637 19,310 19,277 1.7 0.2 -0.6 20,899 18,455 18,675 156,615 141,942 10.3

 New Orders.............................. 19,636 19,583 19,483 0.3 0.5 0.4 20,394 18,854 18,050 157,806 142,485 10.8

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 32,048 31,805 31,922 0.8 -0.4 0.1 34,624 30,679 32,225 253,812 236,905 7.1

 New Orders.............................. 32,540 32,679 32,389 -0.4 0.9 0.1 34,324 31,650 31,216 260,402 239,313 8.8

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 31,433 31,088 31,074 1.1 0.0 0.5 31,654 29,156 29,580 247,714 239,534 3.4

 New Orders.............................. 31,863 31,782 31,796 0.3 0.0 0.5 31,884 29,846 29,921 252,957 237,848 6.4

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,072 26,875 26,603 0.7 1.0 0.7 27,309 25,245 26,381 207,130 198,402 4.4

 New Orders.............................. 22,818 22,532 22,013 1.3 2.4 -0.2 21,543 20,700 20,704 173,660 169,812 2.3

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,029 2,066 1,933 -1.8 6.9 -1.0 1,813 1,732 1,809 15,040 15,230 -1.2

 New Orders.............................. 2,059 2,107 1,976 -2.3 6.6 1.2 1,843 1,773 1,811 15,237 15,227 0.1

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 2,907 2,940 2,969 -1.1 -1.0 -0.6 2,749 2,597 2,864 22,690 22,186 2.3

 New Orders.............................. 3,161 3,039 3,052 4.0 -0.4 1.4 2,717 2,640 2,617 24,122 23,728 1.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,958 9,989 10,153 -0.3 -1.6 0.9 10,506 9,478 10,494 79,686 78,392 1.7

 New Orders.............................. 9,858 9,868 9,700 -0.1 1.7 -4.7 10,249 8,912 10,530 80,018 80,239 -0.3

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 78,318 78,838 78,742 -0.7 0.1 -0.6 82,904 65,079 80,901 621,830 618,562 0.5

 New Orders.............................. 77,373 73,773 91,761 4.9 -19.6 19.1 76,525 60,768 74,225 609,237 583,728 4.4

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 54,209 53,184 54,128 1.9 -1.7 -0.8 58,932 43,199 57,478 432,452 428,383 0.9

 New Orders.............................. 53,886 53,100 54,261 1.5 -2.1 -0.8 58,739 43,063 58,204 432,851 427,123 1.3

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 11,507 12,999 12,033 -11.5 8.0 0.7 11,419 11,114 11,468 90,933 94,879 -4.2

 New Orders.............................. 10,521 7,267 25,123 44.8 -71.1 129.2 7,002 7,103 4,287 82,032 66,600 23.2

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,067 4,065 4,107 0.0 -1.0 0.5 4,033 3,317 3,883 30,422 29,906 1.7

 New Orders.............................. 4,108 5,429 3,725 -24.3 45.7 5.6 2,823 4,355 3,728 32,194 32,010 0.6

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 38,733 38,608 38,540 0.3 0.2 0.3 41,304 38,140 39,981 308,563 301,077 2.5

 New Orders.............................. 38,710 38,693 38,563 0.0 0.3 0.7 40,677 38,085 39,731 309,604 302,229 2.4

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 81,955 82,950 81,167 -1.2 2.2 0.4 82,512 75,926 77,420 636,292 617,975 3.0

 New Orders.............................. 81,624 79,535 94,754 2.6 -16.1 19.4 75,515 73,325 70,465 633,837 593,157 6.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 71,565 72,639 71,175 -1.5 2.1 0.9 72,126 66,803 68,054 556,998 545,434 2.1

 New Orders.............................. 70,959 67,758 84,540 4.7 -19.9 20.8 66,500 63,347 61,865 558,283 523,822 6.6

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 64,431 63,969 63,298 0.7 1.1 0.6 64,876 59,534 60,725 499,725 485,627 2.9

 New Orders.......................... 64,752 64,155 63,464 0.9 1.1 -0.1 63,358 59,231 61,251 506,024 489,869 3.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 10,390 10,311 9,992 0.8 3.2 -2.7 10,386 9,123 9,366 79,294 72,541 9.3

 New Orders.............................. 10,665 11,777 10,214 -9.4 15.3 9.1 9,015 9,978 8,600 75,554 69,335 9.0

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 equipment. 4

 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. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, August Advance Report, September 27, 2017. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 
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

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug 2017/

2017 2 2017 r 2017 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2017 2 2017 r 2016 2016

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,132,333 1,132,273 1,135,546 0.0 -0.3 1.3 1,125,695 1,134,639 1,116,840 0.8

 Total Inventories....................... 400,548 399,158 397,479 0.3 0.4 0.5 404,193 401,745 393,677 2.7

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 361,351 360,346 358,554 0.3 0.5 0.3 360,209 362,774 346,549 3.9

 Total Inventories....................... 270,782 269,342 268,432 0.5 0.3 0.8 273,858 271,584 262,048 4.5

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 953,969 954,261 958,895 0.0 -0.5 1.5 948,995 955,896 944,454 0.5

 Total Inventories....................... 372,864 371,669 370,676 0.3 0.3 0.5 376,517 374,114 367,475 2.5

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,132,333 1,132,273 1,135,546 0.0 -0.3 1.3 1,125,695 1,134,639 1,116,840 0.8

 Total Inventories....................... 325,526 324,376 323,055 0.4 0.4 0.4 328,707 326,788 320,910 2.4

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 30,341 30,342 30,069 0.0 0.9 0.7 30,133 30,638 28,122 7.2

 Total Inventories....................... 33,336 33,259 33,072 0.2 0.6 0.2 33,589 33,569 31,319 7.2

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 79,316 78,824 77,950 0.6 1.1 0.6 79,849 80,149 76,300 4.7

 Total Inventories....................... 49,982 49,710 49,340 0.5 0.7 1.1 50,147 50,189 47,969 4.5

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 101,095 100,665 99,971 0.4 0.7 0.7 100,892 100,662 97,239 3.8

 Total Inventories....................... 69,020 68,456 68,406 0.8 0.1 1.3 69,944 68,842 66,604 5.0

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 117,922 117,715 117,728 0.2 0.0 0.0 117,057 118,163 114,302 2.4

 Total Inventories....................... 44,831 44,593 44,492 0.5 0.2 0.4 45,853 45,161 44,470 3.1

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,886 1,856 1,815 1.6 2.3 2.4 1,886 1,856 1,676 12.5

 Total Inventories....................... 4,349 4,318 4,349 0.7 -0.7 -0.1 4,535 4,445 4,355 4.1

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 27,387 27,133 27,034 0.9 0.4 0.3 27,205 27,237 25,027 8.7

 Total Inventories....................... 4,675 4,646 4,636 0.6 0.2 -0.5 4,790 4,633 4,636 3.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 22,198 22,298 22,419 -0.4 -0.5 -2.0 21,969 22,226 20,689 6.2

 Total Inventories....................... 17,718 17,647 17,638 0.4 0.1 1.2 18,067 17,956 17,232 4.8

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 770,982 771,927 776,992 -0.1 -0.7 1.7 765,486 771,865 770,291 -0.6

 Total Inventories....................... 129,766 129,816 129,047 0.0 0.6 -0.1 130,335 130,161 131,629 -1.0

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 23,463 23,786 23,870 -1.4 -0.4 0.6 23,299 23,492 23,051 1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 34,588 34,773 34,361 -0.5 1.2 -0.3 35,018 35,280 35,542 -1.5

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 578,678 579,664 585,396 -0.2 -1.0 2.3 574,878 579,295 582,014 -1.2

 Total Inventories....................... 65,901 65,925 66,270 0.0 -0.5 0.1 65,862 65,589 68,133 -3.3

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 74,059 74,018 72,654 0.1 1.9 -0.5 73,172 74,382 69,188 5.8

 Total Inventories....................... 13,433 13,143 12,717 2.2 3.3 -0.9 13,469 13,181 12,088 11.4

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 10,479 10,502 10,417 -0.2 0.8 0.2 10,309 10,936 9,897 4.2

 Total Inventories....................... 55,895 55,677 55,484 0.4 0.3 0.5 56,258 55,867 54,454 3.3

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 846,574 846,905 850,320 0.0 -0.4 1.6 841,722 848,719 835,454 0.8

 Total Inventories....................... 201,771 200,786 200,289 0.5 0.2 0.6 203,877 201,770 199,216 2.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 704,001 704,607 709,488 -0.1 -0.7 1.9 699,974 705,600 697,324 0.4

 Total Inventories....................... 178,294 177,574 177,865 0.4 -0.2 0.7 180,444 178,454 177,906 1.4

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 226,761 226,440 226,254 0.1 0.1 0.1 225,864 227,382 220,906 2.2

 Total Inventories................... 123,683 123,142 123,069 0.4 0.1 1.0 125,965 124,290 121,398 3.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 142,573 142,298 140,832 0.2 1.0 0.2 141,748 143,119 138,130 2.6

 Total Inventories....................... 23,477 23,212 22,424 1.1 3.5 -0.2 23,433 23,316 21,310 10.0

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 equipment. 4

 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. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, August Advance Report, September 27, 2017. Information on data sources and methodology can be 

found on our website at <www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.