FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Adriana Stoica 

Economic Indicators Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (14)-11 

CB14-231

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

November 2014 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

November decreased $1.7 billion or 0.7 percent to 

$242.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

today. This decrease, down three of the last four 

months, followed a 0.3 percent October increase. 

Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.4 

percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.1 

percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down three of the last 

four months, led the decrease, $0.9 billion or 1.2 percent 

to $75.5 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

November, down three of the last four months, 

decreased $0.9 billion or 0.4 percent to $245.3 billion. 

This followed a 0.1 percent October decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, led the decrease, $0.7 

billion or 1.0 percent to $72.2 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

November, up nineteen of the last twenty months, 

increased $4.4 billion or 0.4 percent to $1,178.9 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.5 

percent October increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up fourteen of the last 

fifteen months, led the increase, $3.3 billion or 0.4 

percent to $749.9 billion.

Inventories 

 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

November, up nineteen of the last twenty months, 

increased $1.7 billion or 0.4 percent to $408.2 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.4 percent 

October increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up nineteen of the last 

twenty months, led the increase, $1.2 billion or 0.9 

percent to $133.2 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in November 

increased $0.4 billion or 0.5 percent to $82.8 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.5 billion or 0.6 percent to $79.3 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $3.5 billion or 0.5 

percent to $739.2 billion. Inventories increased $0.9 

billion or 0.5 percent to $186.5 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in November 

decreased $0.8 billion or 8.1 percent to $9.5 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.1 billion or 1.1 percent to $9.9 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.4 billion or 0.2 

percent to $158.0 billion. Inventories increased $0.2 

billion or 0.9 percent to $24.1 billion. 

Revised October Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted October figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $496.2 

billion (revised from $496.6 billion); shipments, $498.4 

billion (revised from $499.2 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,174.5 billion (revised from $1,174.2 billion); and 

total inventories, $655.8 billion (revised from $655.6 

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 January 6, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The Advance Report on durable goods for December is 

scheduled for release on January 27, 2015 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. 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

Nov Oct Sep Oct - Sep - Aug - Nov Oct Nov Change

2014 2 2014 r 2014 Nov 2 Oct r Sep 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2014 2013 2014/2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 245,282 246,209 246,379 -0.4 -0.1 0.3 231,144 257,210 228,548 2,657,282 2,533,800 4.9

 New Orders4

.............................. 242,275 243,930 243,200 -0.7 0.3 -0.7 225,636 247,315 228,774 2,673,877 2,504,947 6.7

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 173,050 173,233 173,806 -0.1 -0.3 0.3 162,047 179,065 157,356 1,874,827 1,779,242 5.4

 New Orders4

.............................. 166,775 167,491 169,238 -0.4 -1.0 0.3 152,909 170,175 149,122 1,817,368 1,724,906 5.4

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 233,275 234,241 234,648 -0.4 -0.2 0.4 218,519 245,680 215,095 2,528,661 2,400,590 5.3

 New Orders4

.............................. 230,335 230,507 232,009 -0.1 -0.6 -1.0 215,863 235,261 220,077 2,550,836 2,392,516 6.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 173,623 174,151 174,150 -0.3 0.0 0.3 163,826 178,315 157,996 1,866,899 1,771,629 5.4

 New Orders.............................. 178,008 179,418 178,494 -0.8 0.5 -1.4 165,540 177,742 165,568 1,968,233 1,819,910 8.2

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 27,707 27,931 27,876 -0.8 0.2 0.7 25,297 28,842 24,480 299,872 280,823 6.8

 New Orders.............................. 27,745 28,152 28,681 -1.4 -1.8 2.5 25,458 28,923 25,077 302,769 284,243 6.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 30,480 30,431 30,515 0.2 -0.3 0.8 28,493 32,214 27,666 331,512 320,461 3.4

 New Orders.............................. 30,834 31,029 30,926 -0.6 0.3 1.0 27,715 31,577 25,925 333,133 326,697 2.0

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 36,952 36,872 37,156 0.2 -0.8 0.4 33,761 37,259 32,883 397,611 375,438 5.9

 New Orders.............................. 36,674 36,332 37,086 0.9 -2.0 -3.0 32,722 36,400 32,841 407,633 381,076 7.0

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 28,693 28,869 28,939 -0.6 -0.2 -2.2 27,761 29,466 27,548 315,354 301,531 4.6

 New Orders.............................. 22,042 22,452 22,425 -1.8 0.1 -2.0 20,202 21,396 20,596 239,220 230,488 3.8

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 1,941 1,961 1,975 -1.0 -0.7 -5.0 1,622 1,568 2,045 22,683 24,165 -6.1

 New Orders.............................. 2,033 2,045 2,115 -0.6 -3.3 -1.9 1,714 1,652 2,064 23,522 24,313 -3.3

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,402 3,636 3,784 -6.4 -3.9 1.2 3,169 3,400 3,629 40,505 42,610 -4.9

 New Orders.............................. 3,821 3,802 3,503 0.5 8.5 -17.3 3,232 3,591 4,001 43,356 46,922 -7.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,703 10,539 10,649 1.6 -1.0 0.0 10,387 10,719 10,127 114,936 113,250 1.5

 New Orders.............................. 10,836 10,833 11,285 0.0 -4.0 3.4 10,255 11,195 9,852 117,923 114,174 3.3

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 72,232 72,976 72,573 -1.0 0.6 0.4 69,097 78,145 71,192 782,455 754,558 3.7

 New Orders.............................. 75,500 76,439 73,962 -1.2 3.3 -3.1 72,727 77,140 79,652 856,509 780,041 9.8

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 47,716 47,729 47,368 0.0 0.8 0.2 44,913 53,669 46,961 519,591 501,649 3.6

 New Orders.............................. 47,875 47,791 47,504 0.2 0.6 -0.2 45,264 53,428 47,102 520,266 500,875 3.9

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 12,550 13,133 13,414 -4.4 -2.1 1.7 12,103 12,619 11,106 133,296 120,567 10.6

 New Orders.............................. 15,494 15,405 15,282 0.6 0.8 -16.0 17,224 11,383 23,002 209,520 166,242 26.0

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,477 4,546 4,526 -1.5 0.4 3.8 4,749 4,293 5,668 49,112 51,856 -5.3

 New Orders.............................. 4,876 5,290 3,686 -7.8 43.5 -3.2 4,434 5,332 3,413 46,800 42,414 10.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 38,515 38,591 38,671 -0.2 -0.2 1.7 36,348 40,565 34,652 415,542 387,739 7.2

 New Orders.............................. 38,644 38,693 38,835 -0.1 -0.4 1.9 36,557 40,684 34,831 416,690 388,228 7.3

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 89,227 89,603 90,527 -0.4 -1.0 1.0 84,263 88,713 82,224 953,490 909,693 4.8

 New Orders.............................. 92,357 92,760 91,875 -0.4 1.0 -3.7 86,205 86,215 90,707 1,034,032 954,609 8.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 79,318 79,801 80,870 -0.6 -1.3 1.3 73,867 79,279 71,116 848,317 801,533 5.8

 New Orders.............................. 82,844 82,409 82,464 0.5 -0.1 -4.8 78,729 77,659 83,454 935,347 864,129 8.2

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 70,377 70,263 70,913 0.2 -0.9 0.7 65,469 70,005 63,553 755,009 718,325 5.1

 New Orders.......................... 70,942 70,974 72,335 0.0 -1.9 -1.1 64,358 70,365 63,953 776,109 738,821 5.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,909 9,802 9,657 1.1 1.5 -1.5 10,396 9,434 11,108 105,173 108,160 -2.8

 New Orders.............................. 9,513 10,351 9,411 -8.1 10.0 7.9 7,476 8,556 7,253 98,685 90,480 9.1

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

Nov Oct Sep Oct - Sep - Aug - Nov Oct Nov 2014/

2014 2 2014 r 2014 Nov 2 Oct r Sep 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,178,925 1,174,540 1,169,273 0.4 0.5 0.4 1,161,612 1,159,898 1,039,145 11.8

 Total Inventories....................... 408,241 406,555 404,750 0.4 0.4 0.5 409,569 407,690 385,290 6.3

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 429,072 427,955 426,151 0.3 0.4 0.7 421,117 423,033 394,133 6.8

 Total Inventories....................... 275,038 274,522 273,956 0.2 0.2 0.3 275,843 274,999 264,136 4.4

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 989,140 984,688 980,876 0.5 0.4 0.5 976,288 971,722 849,570 14.9

 Total Inventories....................... 378,723 377,258 375,757 0.4 0.4 0.6 380,004 378,541 357,619 6.3

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,178,925 1,174,540 1,169,273 0.4 0.5 0.4 1,161,612 1,159,898 1,039,145 11.8

 Total Inventories....................... 335,879 334,253 332,493 0.5 0.5 0.5 336,657 335,131 315,024 6.9

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 40,577 40,539 40,318 0.1 0.5 2.0 38,950 38,789 35,547 9.6

 Total Inventories....................... 38,001 37,708 37,498 0.8 0.6 0.9 37,816 37,534 34,535 9.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 88,106 87,752 87,154 0.4 0.7 0.5 85,418 86,196 85,188 0.3

 Total Inventories....................... 50,265 50,056 49,941 0.4 0.2 0.2 49,861 49,820 47,533 4.9

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 119,677 119,955 120,495 -0.2 -0.4 -0.1 117,769 118,808 107,428 9.6

 Total Inventories....................... 67,645 67,879 67,813 -0.3 0.1 0.7 68,392 68,132 66,553 2.8

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 146,728 145,987 144,858 0.5 0.8 0.7 145,576 145,913 136,753 6.5

 Total Inventories....................... 48,883 49,065 48,845 -0.4 0.5 0.3 49,699 49,750 47,670 4.3

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 4,228 4,136 4,052 2.2 2.1 3.6 4,228 4,136 3,375 25.3

 Total Inventories....................... 4,617 4,668 4,711 -1.1 -0.9 1.1 4,846 4,835 4,824 0.5

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 38,829 38,410 38,244 1.1 0.4 -0.7 38,378 38,315 34,742 10.5

 Total Inventories....................... 7,383 7,494 7,533 -1.5 -0.5 -1.1 7,567 7,564 7,768 -2.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 25,871 25,738 25,444 0.5 1.2 2.6 25,277 25,409 21,898 15.4

 Total Inventories....................... 16,628 16,407 16,560 1.3 -0.9 -1.1 16,587 16,476 16,885 -1.8

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 749,853 746,585 743,122 0.4 0.5 0.2 740,495 736,865 645,012 14.8

 Total Inventories....................... 133,203 132,033 130,794 0.9 0.9 0.7 133,726 132,691 121,154 10.4

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 17,553 17,394 17,332 0.9 0.4 0.8 17,191 16,840 16,011 7.4

 Total Inventories....................... 27,503 27,389 27,228 0.4 0.6 1.0 27,823 27,894 25,608 8.6

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 577,404 574,460 572,188 0.5 0.4 0.3 571,932 566,811 477,031 19.9

 Total Inventories....................... 75,355 74,602 73,812 1.0 1.1 1.1 75,456 74,773 67,410 11.9

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 63,658 63,259 62,515 0.6 1.2 -1.3 62,199 62,514 62,917 -1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 14,395 14,529 14,316 -0.9 1.5 -1.9 14,362 14,530 12,996 10.5

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,113 7,984 7,882 1.6 1.3 2.1 8,127 7,918 7,319 11.0

 Total Inventories....................... 53,616 53,407 53,299 0.4 0.2 0.1 53,488 53,287 50,960 5.0

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 897,252 894,122 890,965 0.4 0.4 0.2 884,987 883,045 786,130 12.6

 Total Inventories....................... 210,666 209,593 208,573 0.5 0.5 0.4 212,610 210,548 199,350 6.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 739,219 735,693 733,085 0.5 0.4 0.2 730,901 726,039 625,867 16.8

 Total Inventories....................... 186,544 185,675 184,950 0.5 0.4 0.7 188,408 186,779 176,885 6.5

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 253,553 252,988 252,277 0.2 0.3 0.6 249,745 250,856 228,335 9.4

 Total Inventories................... 122,978 122,986 123,139 0.0 -0.1 0.3 124,764 124,050 121,531 2.7

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 158,033 158,429 157,880 -0.2 0.3 -0.2 154,086 157,006 160,263 -3.9

 Total Inventories....................... 24,122 23,918 23,623 0.9 1.2 -1.1 24,202 23,769 22,465 7.7

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.

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 2014 November 26, 2014 December 5, 2014

November 2014 December 23, 2014 January 6, 2015

December 2014 January 27, 2015 February 3, 2015

January 2015 February 26, 2015 March 5, 2015

February 2015 March 25, 2015 April 2, 2015

March 2015 April 24, 2015 May 4, 2015

April 2015 May 26, 2015 June 2, 2015

May 2015 June 23, 2015 July 2, 2015

June 2015 July 27, 2015 August 4, 2015

July 2015 August 26, 2015 September 2, 2015

August 2015 September 24, 2015 October 2, 2015

September 2015 October 27, 2015 November 3, 2015

October 2015 November 25, 2015 December 3, 2015

November 2015 December 23, 2015 Not available at this time