FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Adriana Stoica 

Economic Indicators Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (14)-08 

CB14-174

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

August 2014 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in August 

decreased $54.5 billion or 18.2 percent to $245.4 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

decrease, down following two consecutive monthly 

increases, followed a 22.5 percent July increase. 

Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.7 

percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 19.0 

percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $55.6 

billion or 42.0 percent to $76.8 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, 

down following two consecutive monthly increases, 

decreased $3.7 billion or 1.5 percent to $246.1 billion. 

This followed a 3.7 percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $3.9 

billion or 5.1 percent to $72.5 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

August, up sixteen of the last seventeen months, 

increased $7.4 billion or 0.6 percent to $1,165.0 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 5.3 

percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up eleven of the last twelve 

months, led the increase, $4.3 billion or 0.6 percent to 

$742.1 billion.

Inventories 

 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in August, 

up sixteen of the last seventeen months, increased $1.7 

billion or 0.4 percent to $403.0 billion. This was at the 

highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis and followed a 0.4 percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up sixteen of the last 

seventeen months, led the increase, $0.6 billion or 0.4 

percent to $129.9 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $49.5 billion or 36.3 percent to $86.8 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.1 billion or 0.2 percent to $79.7 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $7.1 billion or 1.0 

percent to $731.8 billion. Inventories increased $0.6 

billion or 0.3 percent to $184.1 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in August 

increased $0.4 billion or 5.4 percent to $8.8 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.1 billion or 0.9 percent to $9.7 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.9 billion or 0.6 

percent to $158.3 billion. Inventories increased $0.1 

billion or 0.5 percent to $23.9 billion. 

Revised July Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted July figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $558.5 

billion (revised from $558.3 billion); shipments, $508.4 

billion (revised from $507.4 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,157.6 billion (revised from $1,158.2 billion); and 

total inventories, $653.5 billion (revised from $653.8 

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 October 2, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The Advance Report on durable goods for September is 

scheduled for release on October 28, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. 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. The U.S. 

Census Bureau updated its Application Programming Interface (API) with monthly and quarterly economic indicators. The API allows developers to combine Census Bureau statistics with other data sets to create tools for research on a variety of topics.
 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

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

2014 2 2014 r 2014 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2014 2013 2014/2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Shipments................................ 246,106 249,802 240,950 -1.5 3.7 1.2 249,353 236,943 238,133 1,909,420 1,820,862 4.9

 New Orders4.............................. 245,433 299,960 244,841 -18.2 22.5 2.7 239,321 282,879 222,754 1,944,137 1,797,919 8.1

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 173,564 173,363 170,174 0.1 1.9 1.1 175,743 171,823 165,966 1,351,238 1,285,542 5.1

 New Orders4.............................. 168,629 167,535 168,440 0.7 -0.5 3.0 167,002 162,251 156,625 1,317,067 1,254,615 5.0

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 234,278 237,966 229,437 -1.5 3.7 1.3 237,729 226,539 225,672 1,818,002 1,726,551 5.3

 New Orders4.............................. 234,608 289,486 231,740 -19.0 24.9 2.7 231,179 275,122 214,051 1,855,283 1,718,102 8.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 173,665 174,894 169,968 -0.7 2.9 1.9 175,846 165,502 166,304 1,340,338 1,276,888 5.0

 New Orders.............................. 181,095 233,227 181,134 -22.4 28.8 4.0 173,690 221,779 157,869 1,436,471 1,308,821 9.8

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 27,686 27,583 27,077 0.4 1.9 1.0 28,348 27,385 26,465 217,278 203,928 6.5

 New Orders.............................. 27,762 27,959 27,996 -0.7 -0.1 2.0 27,706 27,638 25,721 220,010 206,602 6.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 30,437 30,285 30,167 0.5 0.4 1.8 31,925 30,137 30,732 238,927 232,165 2.9

 New Orders.............................. 30,797 30,692 30,715 0.3 -0.1 2.5 31,501 30,359 30,798 242,227 242,841 -0.3

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 36,775 36,856 35,763 -0.2 3.1 -0.4 36,220 35,929 33,850 287,821 273,800 5.1

 New Orders.............................. 37,947 37,693 38,323 0.7 -1.6 5.0 36,549 36,148 33,863 299,911 278,801 7.6

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 29,717 29,966 29,052 -0.8 3.1 2.2 28,420 29,578 26,882 226,589 214,917 5.4

 New Orders.............................. 22,892 22,515 22,688 1.7 -0.8 3.8 20,914 19,562 18,824 171,217 163,867 4.5

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,160 2,315 2,452 -6.7 -5.6 5.1 1,741 1,584 2,008 16,733 16,838 -0.6

 New Orders.............................. 2,237 2,443 2,646 -8.4 -7.7 -1.2 1,818 1,712 1,929 17,256 16,956 1.8

 

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,734 3,850 3,836 -3.0 0.4 3.5 3,658 3,334 3,895 29,387 30,637 -4.1

 New Orders.............................. 4,328 4,180 3,761 3.5 11.1 5.6 4,077 3,392 3,792 32,103 33,666 -4.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,714 10,617 10,405 0.9 2.0 2.0 10,956 10,221 10,518 82,502 82,023 0.6

 New Orders.............................. 10,953 10,623 10,918 3.1 -2.7 5.8 10,945 10,000 10,364 85,022 83,367 2.0

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 72,542 76,439 70,776 -5.1 8.0 1.5 73,610 65,120 72,167 558,182 535,320 4.3

 New Orders.............................. 76,804 132,425 76,401 -42.0 73.3 2.2 72,319 120,628 66,129 627,070 543,304 15.4

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 47,422 50,817 46,167 -6.7 10.1 -1.2 48,945 42,893 48,604 371,749 356,044 4.4

 New Orders.............................. 47,636 50,908 46,296 -6.4 10.0 -1.2 49,263 42,623 48,586 372,063 355,606 4.6 

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 13,227 13,394 12,877 -1.2 4.0 14.2 12,822 11,722 11,035 93,898 85,204 10.2

 New Orders.............................. 17,976 69,976 16,836 -74.3 315.6 11.2 14,020 69,225 8,449 162,628 108,326 50.1

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,369 4,557 4,415 -4.1 3.2 -4.3 4,313 3,819 4,899 35,050 36,223 -3.2

 New Orders.............................. 4,024 4,048 5,931 -0.6 -31.7 9.5 2,738 3,282 3,268 33,123 28,730 15.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 38,235 38,056 37,710 0.5 0.9 0.9 39,874 38,573 37,519 298,121 278,709 7.0

 New Orders.............................. 38,278 38,053 37,800 0.6 0.7 0.9 39,387 38,544 37,055 298,680 279,137 7.0

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 89,367 89,141 87,528 0.3 1.8 2.6 87,924 83,033 83,484 682,358 655,342 4.1

 New Orders.............................. 95,542 144,576 94,856 -33.9 52.4 4.9 87,315 136,140 77,183 761,313 684,686 11.2

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 79,687 79,548 78,117 0.2 1.8 3.1 78,356 74,578 73,265 607,795 578,761 5.0

 New Orders.............................. 86,784 136,264 84,734 -36.3 60.8 5.1 80,480 129,999 70,106 689,338 619,896 11.2

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 70,350 70,253 68,937 0.1 1.9 1.0 69,122 66,466 65,374 543,103 520,057 4.4

 New Orders.......................... 73,233 72,777 72,944 0.6 -0.2 5.4 69,753 67,710 64,697 564,293 539,653 4.6

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,680 9,593 9,411 0.9 1.9 -0.9 9,568 8,455 10,219 74,563 76,581 -2.6

 New Orders.............................. 8,758 8,312 10,122 5.4 -17.9 4.0 6,835 6,141 7,077 71,975 64,790 11.1

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 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

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug 2014/

2014 2 2014 r 2014 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,165,001 1,157,571 1,099,238 0.6 5.3 1.0 1,156,411 1,158,567 1,022,797 13.1

 Total Inventories....................... 403,015 401,347 399,598 0.4 0.4 0.4 406,872 404,464 382,723 6.3

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 422,930 419,762 417,415 0.8 0.6 1.3 421,082 421,947 395,284 6.5

 Total Inventories....................... 273,091 271,994 270,669 0.4 0.5 0.2 275,825 273,822 264,167 4.4

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 975,669 967,236 907,541 0.9 6.6 1.1 968,071 966,745 826,937 17.1

 Total Inventories....................... 373,666 372,147 370,219 0.4 0.5 0.3 377,578 375,115 355,592 6.2

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,165,001 1,157,571 1,099,238 0.6 5.3 1.0 1,156,411 1,158,567 1,022,797 13.1

 Total Inventories....................... 331,079 329,359 327,562 0.5 0.5 0.5 334,655 332,571 313,575 6.7

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 39,371 39,295 38,919 0.2 1.0 2.4 38,785 39,427 34,801 11.4

 Total Inventories....................... 37,094 36,819 36,431 0.7 1.1 0.6 37,386 36,931 35,068 6.6

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 86,754 86,394 85,987 0.4 0.5 0.6 87,097 87,521 89,628 -2.8

 Total Inventories....................... 49,824 49,625 49,329 0.4 0.6 0.5 50,073 50,185 47,644 5.1

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 120,511 119,339 118,502 1.0 0.7 2.2 119,837 119,508 106,791 12.2

 Total Inventories....................... 67,583 67,363 67,149 0.3 0.3 0.6 68,427 67,665 66,507 2.9

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 143,823 142,545 141,821 0.9 0.5 0.6 143,015 142,645 134,488 6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 48,563 48,413 48,459 0.3 -0.1 -0.5 49,478 48,968 47,289 4.6

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,912 3,835 3,707 2.0 3.5 5.5 3,912 3,835 3,345 17.0

 Total Inventories....................... 4,664 4,702 4,598 -0.8 2.3 0.3 4,881 4,803 4,748 2.8 

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 38,623 38,029 37,699 1.6 0.9 -0.2 38,243 37,824 33,459 14.3

 Total Inventories....................... 7,621 7,662 7,798 -0.5 -1.7 0.0 7,709 7,632 7,513 2.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 24,801 24,562 24,556 1.0 0.0 2.1 24,810 24,821 22,318 11.2

 Total Inventories....................... 16,753 16,630 16,199 0.7 2.7 -2.4 16,912 16,839 16,932 -0.1

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 742,071 737,809 681,823 0.6 8.2 0.8 735,329 736,620 627,513 17.2

 Total Inventories....................... 129,924 129,353 128,929 0.4 0.3 0.9 131,047 130,642 118,556 10.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 17,084 16,870 16,779 1.3 0.5 0.8 16,830 16,512 16,347 3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 26,877 26,684 26,590 0.7 0.4 1.1 27,028 26,870 25,450 6.2 

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 570,069 565,320 508,738 0.8 11.1 0.8 564,438 563,240 454,478 24.2

 Total Inventories....................... 73,116 73,024 72,478 0.1 0.8 0.4 73,907 73,865 65,204 13.3

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 63,623 63,968 64,477 -0.5 -0.8 2.4 62,584 64,159 64,866 -3.5

 Total Inventories....................... 14,597 14,424 14,199 1.2 1.6 -0.2 14,647 14,549 13,498 8.5

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,670 7,627 7,630 0.6 0.0 1.2 7,538 8,025 7,258 3.9

 Total Inventories....................... 53,274 53,144 53,102 0.2 0.1 0.6 53,549 53,234 50,727 5.6

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 890,046 883,871 828,436 0.7 6.7 0.9 883,400 884,009 770,558 14.6

 Total Inventories....................... 208,024 207,269 205,732 0.4 0.7 0.3 210,645 208,935 196,628 7.1

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 731,756 724,659 667,943 1.0 8.5 1.0 725,414 723,290 604,406 20.0

 Total Inventories....................... 184,092 183,466 181,719 0.3 1.0 0.1 186,818 185,108 174,666 7.0

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 251,071 248,188 245,664 1.2 1.0 1.7 249,835 249,204 227,435 9.8

 Total Inventories................... 123,014 122,357 121,492 0.5 0.7 0.0 124,959 123,212 120,992 3.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 158,290 159,212 160,493 -0.6 -0.8 0.4 157,986 160,719 166,152 -4.9

 Total Inventories....................... 23,932 23,803 24,013 0.5 -0.9 1.8 23,827 23,827 21,962 8.5

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.