FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (14)-02 

CB14-50

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

February 2014 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

February increased $5.0 billion or 2.2 percent to $229.4 

billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

increase, up following two consecutive monthly 

decreases, followed a 1.3 percent January decrease. 

Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.2 

percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 1.8 

percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also up following two 

consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $4.6 

billion or 6.9 percent to $71.4 billion. This was led by 

nondefense aircraft and parts, which increased $1.8 

billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in February, 

up following two consecutive monthly decreases, 

increased $2.0 billion or 0.9 percent to $234.0 billion. 

This followed a 0.6 percent January decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, also up following two 

consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $0.9 

billion or 1.3 percent to $68.6 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

February, up twelve of the last thirteen months, 

increased $2.9 billion or 0.3 percent to $1,062.6 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis in 1992, and followed a 

slight January increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up five of the last six 

months, led the increase, $2.8 billion or 0.4 percent to 

$659.6 billion.

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

February, up ten of the last eleven months, increased 

$3.2 billion or 0.8 percent to $392.3 billion. This was at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis, and followed a 0.3 percent January 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up twenty-one of the last 

twenty-two months, led the increase, $1.9 billion or 1.5 

percent to $125.0 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in February 

decreased $2.2 billion or 2.8 percent to $75.1 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.1 billion or 0.1 percent to $74.8 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.3 billion or 0.1 

percent to $644.4 billion. Inventories increased $1.1 

billion or 0.6 percent to $178.1 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in February 

increased $0.9 billion or 13.5 percent to $8.0 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.2 billion or 1.7 percent to $9.5 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $1.5 billion or 0.9 

percent to $156.6 billion. Inventories increased $0.9 

billion or 4.0 percent to $23.6 billion. 

Revised January Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted January figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $482.0 

billion (revised from $483.0 billion); shipments, $489.6 

billion (revised from $490.7 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,059.7 billion (revised from $1,059.9 billion); and 

total inventories $637.9 billion (revised from $637.7 

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

scheduled for release on April 24, 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. 
 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

Feb Jan Dec Jan - Dec- Nov - Feb Jan Feb Change

2014 2 2014 r 2013 Feb 2 Jan r Dec 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2014 2013 2014/2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 233,969 231,973 233,355 0.9 -0.6 -1.7 219,282 210,909 211,765 430,191 416,326 3.3

 New Orders4

.............................. 229,379 224,381 227,318 2.2 -1.3 -5.3 223,638 206,560 224,497 430,198 426,669 0.8

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 165,374 164,286 165,357 0.7 -0.6 0.2 153,215 151,994 148,513 305,209 296,574 2.9

 New Orders

4

.............................. 157,942 157,573 156,106 0.2 0.9 -1.8 153,122 149,206 150,532 302,328 299,456 1.0

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 222,376 220,080 221,562 1.0 -0.7 -1.2 208,220 201,278 200,344 409,498 395,447 3.6

 New Orders4

.............................. 219,398 215,542 219,746 1.8 -1.9 -4.3 213,495 199,503 213,021 412,998 406,307 1.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 163,397 162,640 162,543 0.5 0.1 -1.1 153,552 146,541 148,466 300,093 291,305 3.0

 New Orders.............................. 166,343 162,766 164,240 2.2 -0.9 -5.6 163,952 151,406 166,627 315,358 314,888 0.1

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 26,022 25,873 26,140 0.6 -1.0 -0.3 25,434 25,899 24,309 51,333 49,462 3.8

 New Orders.............................. 26,013 25,550 25,998 1.8 -1.7 -2.3 26,254 26,978 26,467 53,232 51,799 2.8

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 29,302 28,971 28,760 1.1 0.7 -1.2 27,329 27,085 26,792 54,414 54,002 0.8

 New Orders.............................. 28,518 28,437 26,262 0.3 8.3 -6.5 28,753 27,003 29,913 55,756 60,333 -7.6

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 35,064 34,498 35,608 1.6 -3.1 0.9 32,930 30,582 32,410 63,512 62,591 1.5

 New Orders.............................. 35,823 36,375 36,841 -1.5 -1.3 3.0 34,884 34,892 33,077 69,776 67,268 3.7

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 28,363 28,743 28,791 -1.3 -0.2 2.5 24,708 26,756 23,980 51,464 49,191 4.6

 New Orders.............................. 21,024 20,931 20,285 0.4 3.2 -8.7 19,822 17,918 19,466 37,740 37,615 0.3

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,234 2,427 2,434 -8.0 -0.3 3.4 1,506 1,702 1,578 3,208 3,159 1.6

 New Orders.............................. 2,230 2,241 2,448 -0.5 -8.5 3.2 1,502 1,516 1,822 3,018 3,392 -11.0

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,722 4,002 3,789 -7.0 5.6 2.4 3,220 3,260 3,462 6,480 6,631 -2.3

 New Orders.............................. 4,206 4,323 4,374 -2.7 -1.2 -5.7 4,222 3,612 3,810 7,834 7,682 2.0

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,145 10,211 10,175 -0.6 0.4 -1.8 9,348 9,195 9,592 18,543 18,882 -1.8

 New Orders.............................. 10,233 10,330 10,743 -0.9 -3.8 5.6 9,835 9,970 9,960 19,805 19,814 0.0

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 68,595 67,687 67,998 1.3 -0.5 -6.1 66,067 58,915 63,252 124,982 119,752 4.4

 New Orders.............................. 71,437 66,808 71,212 6.9 -6.2 -12.1 70,516 57,354 73,965 127,870 127,213 0.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 45,649 43,929 44,794 3.9 -1.9 -7.0 45,317 40,697 43,605 86,014 83,133 3.5

 New Orders.............................. 45,641 44,040 44,895 3.6 -1.9 -6.6 45,706 40,991 44,208 86,697 83,786 3.5

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 11,372 12,012 11,603 -5.3 3.5 3.7 10,000 8,929 8,408 18,929 16,164 17.1

 New Orders.............................. 15,024 13,230 16,987 13.6 -22.1 -22.3 14,643 8,688 19,526 23,331 25,172 -7.3

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,335 4,623 4,151 -6.2 11.4 -25.0 3,900 3,609 4,253 7,509 7,626 -1.5

 New Orders.............................. 4,562 3,767 3,213 21.1 17.2 -22.6 4,292 3,111 2,532 7,403 6,246 18.5

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 36,478 35,990 35,883 1.4 0.3 -0.2 33,466 32,477 31,430 65,943 62,446 5.6

 New Orders.............................. 36,331 35,950 35,977 1.1 -0.1 -0.4 33,574 32,445 31,649 66,019 62,627 5.4

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 84,260 84,342 85,871 -0.1 -1.8 0.2 77,918 72,135 75,626 150,053 145,911 2.8

 New Orders.............................. 83,106 84,345 87,613 -1.5 -3.7 -8.5 81,078 74,049 90,261 155,127 163,678 -5.2

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 74,808 74,731 75,995 0.1 -1.7 1.5 68,672 64,283 66,088 132,955 128,730 3.3

 New Orders.............................. 75,144 77,330 81,647 -2.8 -5.3 -6.3 72,710 68,493 80,388 141,203 147,487 -4.3

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 66,893 66,546 67,505 0.5 -1.4 0.6 61,876 58,962 60,895 120,838 118,832 1.7

 New Orders.......................... 67,410 68,313 67,749 -1.3 0.8 -1.6 65,562 63,961 64,035 129,523 129,390 0.1

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,452 9,611 9,876 -1.7 -2.7 -8.9 9,246 7,852 9,538 17,098 17,181 -0.5

 New Orders.............................. 7,962 7,015 5,966 13.5 17.6 -30.7 8,368 5,556 9,873 13,924 16,191 -14.0

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 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

Feb Jan Dec Jan - Dec - Nov - Feb Jan Feb 2014/

2014 2 2014 r 2013 Feb 2 Jan r Dec 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,062,596 1,059,650 1,059,524 0.3 0.0 0.2 1,075,543 1,065,143 1,014,447 6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 392,341 389,114 388,025 0.8 0.3 0.9 394,750 387,970 378,561 4.3

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 402,985 402,881 401,876 0.0 0.3 -0.4 406,214 400,263 387,457 4.8

 Total Inventories....................... 267,298 265,963 266,061 0.5 0.0 0.8 269,213 265,226 263,630 2.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 876,842 872,284 869,104 0.5 0.4 0.7 888,132 876,813 804,610 10.4

 Total Inventories....................... 363,390 361,112 359,791 0.6 0.4 0.8 365,723 359,928 350,703 4.3

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,062,596 1,059,650 1,059,524 0.3 0.0 0.2 1,075,543 1,065,143 1,014,447 6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 321,460 318,573 317,824 0.9 0.2 0.9 322,904 317,428 308,953 4.5

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 36,424 36,433 36,756 0.0 -0.9 -0.4 37,952 37,132 34,464 10.1

 Total Inventories....................... 35,735 35,438 35,357 0.8 0.2 1.0 35,988 35,410 36,295 -0.8

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 85,759 86,543 87,077 -0.9 -0.6 -2.8 85,139 83,715 85,283 -0.2

 Total Inventories....................... 48,604 48,389 48,264 0.4 0.3 0.7 48,694 48,230 47,057 3.5

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 112,701 111,942 110,065 0.7 1.7 1.1 114,011 112,057 106,467 7.1

 Total Inventories....................... 66,407 65,907 66,392 0.8 -0.7 0.6 67,207 65,599 66,925 0.4

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 137,730 137,533 137,627 0.1 -0.1 -0.6 138,505 137,347 132,326 4.7

 Total Inventories....................... 47,958 47,605 47,700 0.7 -0.2 1.5 47,976 47,268 46,007 4.3

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,199 3,203 3,389 -0.1 -5.5 0.4 3,199 3,203 3,460 -7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 4,636 4,630 4,720 0.1 -1.9 3.1 4,691 4,513 4,442 5.6

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 36,560 36,076 35,755 1.3 0.9 1.7 36,881 35,879 31,481 17.2

 Total Inventories....................... 7,719 7,681 7,818 0.5 -1.8 3.4 7,880 7,756 7,709 2.2

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 23,092 23,004 22,885 0.4 0.5 2.5 23,552 23,065 21,906 7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 16,655 16,751 16,786 -0.6 -0.2 -1.0 16,850 16,769 17,034 -1.1

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 659,611 656,769 657,648 0.4 -0.1 0.5 669,329 664,880 626,990 6.8

 Total Inventories....................... 125,043 123,151 121,964 1.5 1.0 1.0 125,537 122,744 114,931 9.2

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,493 16,501 16,390 0.0 0.7 0.6 17,199 16,810 17,438 -1.4

 Total Inventories....................... 26,066 25,881 25,227 0.7 2.6 0.2 26,437 26,293 25,770 2.6

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 492,741 489,089 487,871 0.7 0.2 1.1 500,110 495,467 440,364 13.6

 Total Inventories....................... 69,801 69,030 68,297 1.1 1.1 1.1 69,815 68,113 60,608 15.2

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 63,042 62,815 63,671 0.4 -1.3 -1.5 64,405 64,013 70,979 -9.3

 Total Inventories....................... 14,224 13,338 13,278 6.6 0.5 2.4 14,194 13,231 13,977 1.6

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,279 7,426 7,466 -2.0 -0.5 1.3 7,055 6,947 7,011 0.6

 Total Inventories....................... 51,939 51,873 51,562 0.1 0.6 1.1 52,498 51,950 50,312 4.3

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 801,092 802,246 802,243 -0.1 0.0 0.2 809,519 806,359 758,981 6.7

 Total Inventories....................... 201,759 199,785 199,911 1.0 -0.1 1.0 202,676 198,346 193,230 4.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 644,443 644,107 641,508 0.1 0.4 0.9 652,119 648,081 582,028 12.0

 Total Inventories....................... 178,130 177,057 176,914 0.6 0.1 0.8 178,941 175,471 170,684 4.8

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 236,060 235,543 233,776 0.2 0.8 0.1 237,330 233,644 218,397 8.7

 Total Inventories................... 120,416 119,943 120,571 0.4 -0.5 0.5 121,396 119,356 121,350 0.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 156,649 158,139 160,735 -0.9 -1.6 -2.4 157,400 158,278 176,953 -11.0

 Total Inventories....................... 23,629 22,728 22,997 4.0 -1.2 2.6 23,735 22,875 22,546 5.3

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. 

 Notice of Revisions Due to Updated Seasonal Adjustment Models 

On May 15, 2014, monthly seasonally adjusted data for Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders, 

based on the North American Industry Classification System, will be revised for January 1992 through 

March 2014. There will be no accompanying press release containing revised seasonally adjusted data for 

January through March of 2014, and historical data not seasonally adjusted will be unchanged. These 

revisions to the historical seasonally adjusted data will be based on the results of the recent annual review of 

the seasonal adjustment models. These updated models will also be used to produce seasonally adjusted data 

from the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey, beginning with the April 2014 Advance 

Report on Durable Goods scheduled for release on May 27, 2014 and the full report scheduled for release on 

June 3, 2014. 

Please call Chris Savage on (301) 763-4832 with any questions regarding this notice.