FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (13)-09 

CB13-180

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

September 2013 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September increased $8.2 billion or 3.7 percent to 

$233.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

today. This increase, up five of the last six months, 

followed a 0.2 percent August increase. Excluding 

transportation, new orders decreased 0.1 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders increased 3.2 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also up five of the last six 

months, drove the increase, $8.4 billion or 12.3 percent 

to $77.0 billion. This was led by nondefense aircraft and 

parts, which increased $6.9 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up two consecutive months, increased $0.5 

billion or 0.2 percent to $231.8 billion. This was at the 

highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis in 1992, and followed a 0.8 percent August 

increase. 

 Primary metals, up five of the last six months, led the 

increase, $0.2 billion or 0.8 percent to $25.8 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September, up seven of the last eight months, increased 

$8.6 billion or 0.8 percent to $1,041.2 billion. This was 

at the highest level since the series was first published on 

a NAICS basis, and followed a 0.1 percent August 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up following two 

consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $7.3 

billion or 1.1 percent to $642.1 billion.

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up five of the last six months, increased $3.3 

billion or 0.9 percent to $382.7 billion. This was at the 

highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis, and followed a 0.1 percent August 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up sixteen of the last 

seventeen months, led the increase, $1.8 billion or 1.5 

percent to $119.0 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in September 

increased $5.2 billion or 6.9 percent to $80.7 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.3 billion or 0.4 percent to $74.0 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $6.7 billion or 1.1 

percent to $616.7 billion. Inventories increased $1.4 

billion or 0.8 percent to $173.6 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in September 

increased $1.2 billion or 13.4 percent to $9.8 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.6 billion or 6.0 percent to $9.6 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.1 billion or 0.1 

percent to $167.8 billion. Inventories increased $0.8 

billion or 3.8 percent to $23.0 billion. 

Revised August Data 

 Due to the lapse in funding, seasonally adjusted 

August figures for all manufacturing industries were not 

released on October 3, 2013. Though a statement of 

revisions to these figures will not be available until a 

combined August/September Full Report is released on 

November 4, 2013, seasonally adjusted August figures 

for durable goods industries are revised in this report. 

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 November 4, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The advance report on durable

goods for October is scheduled for release on November 27, 2013, 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

Sep Aug Jul Aug - Jul - Jun - Sep Aug Sep Change

2013 2 2013 r 2013 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2013 2012 2013/2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 231,808 231,322 229,401 0.2 0.8 -0.1 240,668 237,918 227,995 2,061,315 2,000,544 3.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 233,411 225,164 224,620 3.7 0.2 -8.1 242,025 222,344 221,715 2,039,534 1,949,582 4.6

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 162,031 161,515 160,683 0.3 0.5 0.0 167,786 165,777 161,271 1,453,139 1,434,473 1.3

 New Orders

4

.............................. 156,366 156,542 157,178 -0.1 -0.4 -0.5 159,896 156,236 150,325 1,414,122 1,369,692 3.2

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 219,727 218,809 217,704 0.4 0.5 0.2 227,325 225,464 214,329 1,953,668 1,892,202 3.2

 New Orders4

.............................. 221,323 214,413 213,042 3.2 0.6 -7.5 228,225 213,648 207,486 1,945,924 1,839,579 5.8

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 162,467 162,145 160,721 0.2 0.9 -0.4 169,362 166,091 163,155 1,446,037 1,425,037 1.5

 New Orders.............................. 171,027 162,857 162,799 5.0 0.0 -11.0 177,423 157,461 163,796 1,485,836 1,437,962 3.3

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 25,822 25,609 25,436 0.8 0.7 2.0 25,678 26,462 24,311 229,603 231,357 -0.8

 New Orders.............................. 26,161 25,470 25,499 2.7 -0.1 -0.1 25,218 25,717 23,422 231,816 225,102 3.0

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 28,946 28,877 28,964 0.2 -0.3 0.4 29,956 30,680 29,031 262,069 259,058 1.2

 New Orders.............................. 29,960 30,240 30,129 -0.9 0.4 1.3 29,590 30,733 28,546 272,366 264,333 3.0

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 33,916 33,791 33,577 0.4 0.6 -1.6 34,606 33,867 33,390 308,423 298,556 3.3

 New Orders.............................. 34,405 35,049 34,681 -1.8 1.1 -0.6 34,687 33,863 30,237 313,488 291,909 7.4

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,818 27,610 27,238 0.8 1.4 -1.1 30,596 26,876 30,281 245,507 254,324 -3.5

 New Orders.............................. 20,425 20,299 21,460 0.6 -5.4 -2.8 23,992 18,842 24,395 187,877 196,647 -4.5

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,318 2,233 2,017 3.8 10.7 -15.7 3,241 2,008 3,283 20,079 21,882 -8.2

 New Orders.............................. 2,308 2,154 2,036 7.1 5.8 -12.8 3,231 1,929 3,346 20,187 22,001 -8.2

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 4,016 4,008 3,956 0.2 1.3 -1.6 4,655 3,855 4,279 35,252 33,232 6.1

 New Orders.............................. 4,272 4,000 4,194 6.8 -4.6 -8.1 5,326 3,752 4,838 38,952 36,229 7.5

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,867 10,017 10,298 -1.5 -2.7 -0.1 10,306 10,375 10,524 92,186 93,004 -0.9

 New Orders.............................. 9,798 9,823 10,172 -0.3 -3.4 -4.9 9,819 10,022 9,946 92,844 93,017 -0.2

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 69,777 69,807 68,718 0.0 1.6 -0.2 72,882 72,141 66,724 608,176 566,071 7.4

 New Orders.............................. 77,045 68,622 67,442 12.3 1.7 -21.9 82,129 66,108 71,390 625,412 579,890 7.9

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 45,851 45,824 45,009 0.1 1.8 0.4 46,695 48,606 40,899 402,741 368,233 9.4

 New Orders.............................. 45,738 45,895 44,963 -0.3 2.1 0.4 46,468 48,588 40,720 402,076 366,655 9.7

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 12,029 11,530 12,133 4.3 -5.0 1.1 12,910 11,021 12,265 98,100 90,132 8.8

 New Orders.............................. 18,876 11,986 11,371 57.5 5.4 -58.9 21,315 8,455 16,454 129,647 105,838 22.5

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,711 4,859 4,396 -3.0 10.5 -4.7 5,342 4,892 5,398 41,558 42,284 -1.7

 New Orders.............................. 5,162 4,481 5,066 15.2 -11.5 -3.3 6,286 3,261 6,770 35,009 43,337 -19.2

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 35,662 35,611 35,170 0.1 1.3 0.5 36,644 37,517 33,734 315,351 298,174 5.8

 New Orders.............................. 35,617 35,661 35,237 -0.1 1.2 0.5 36,590 37,059 33,779 315,731 298,684 5.7

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 83,611 83,903 82,859 -0.3 1.3 -1.9 88,676 83,345 86,509 743,879 729,113 2.0

 New Orders.............................. 90,452 84,104 84,908 7.5 -0.9 -18.2 96,488 76,837 88,003 780,828 747,454 4.5

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 73,967 73,642 73,506 0.4 0.2 -1.4 78,115 73,126 75,508 656,737 642,349 2.2

 New Orders.............................. 80,677 75,484 75,946 6.9 -0.6 -17.5 85,597 69,760 76,896 705,147 658,637 7.1

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 65,519 65,626 64,936 -0.2 1.1 -1.4 69,209 65,235 66,832 589,127 581,123 1.4

 New Orders.......................... 66,850 67,576 67,278 -1.1 0.4 -3.5 69,336 64,351 64,221 608,643 583,587 4.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,644 10,261 9,353 -6.0 9.7 -5.8 10,561 10,219 11,001 87,142 86,764 0.4

 New Orders.............................. 9,775 8,620 8,962 13.4 -3.8 -23.7 10,891 7,077 11,107 75,681 88,817 -14.8

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

Sep Aug Jul Aug - Jul - Jun - Sep Aug Sep 2013/

2013 2 2013 r 2013 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,041,227 1,032,667 1,031,955 0.8 0.1 0.2 1,030,663 1,022,602 967,899 6.5

 Total Inventories....................... 382,669 379,323 378,829 0.9 0.1 0.3 381,566 382,789 371,027 2.8

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 399,168 397,876 395,979 0.3 0.5 0.9 393,898 395,084 376,275 4.7

 Total Inventories....................... 263,671 262,081 261,931 0.6 0.1 0.2 262,548 264,238 261,632 0.4

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 842,536 833,983 831,509 1.0 0.3 0.3 834,346 826,742 767,083 8.8

 Total Inventories....................... 354,689 352,080 350,338 0.7 0.5 0.3 353,783 355,657 344,895 2.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,041,227 1,032,667 1,031,955 0.8 0.1 0.2 1,030,663 1,022,602 967,899 6.5

 Total Inventories....................... 313,602 310,654 310,317 0.9 0.1 0.5 312,533 313,653 301,889 3.5

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 35,807 35,468 35,607 1.0 -0.4 0.2 34,340 34,800 31,702 8.3

 Total Inventories....................... 35,164 35,003 34,925 0.5 0.2 0.1 35,141 35,063 36,266 -3.1

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 91,150 90,136 88,773 1.1 1.5 1.3 89,249 89,615 78,878 13.1

 Total Inventories....................... 47,619 47,430 47,321 0.4 0.2 0.3 47,464 47,643 47,171 0.6

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 107,941 107,452 106,194 0.5 1.2 1.1 106,855 106,774 107,799 -0.9

 Total Inventories....................... 66,428 65,921 65,864 0.8 0.1 0.5 65,956 66,510 66,761 -1.2

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 134,912 135,348 135,789 -0.3 -0.3 0.8 134,612 134,512 129,625 3.8

 Total Inventories....................... 47,040 46,466 46,634 1.2 -0.4 -0.4 46,861 47,352 45,852 2.2

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,335 3,345 3,424 -0.3 -2.3 0.6 3,335 3,345 2,862 16.5

 Total Inventories....................... 4,501 4,510 4,583 -0.2 -1.6 -2.3 4,470 4,748 4,294 4.1

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 34,031 33,775 33,783 0.8 0.0 0.7 34,130 33,459 29,536 15.6

 Total Inventories....................... 7,595 7,474 7,355 1.6 1.6 -1.3 7,524 7,569 7,762 -3.1

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 22,008 22,077 22,271 -0.3 -0.9 -0.6 21,632 22,119 21,046 2.8

 Total Inventories....................... 16,988 16,861 16,924 0.8 -0.4 0.7 16,706 16,956 16,199 3.1

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 642,059 634,791 635,976 1.1 -0.2 -0.2 636,765 627,518 591,624 7.6

 Total Inventories....................... 118,998 117,242 116,898 1.5 0.3 0.5 119,018 118,551 109,395 8.8

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,678 16,791 16,720 -0.7 0.4 -0.3 16,120 16,347 16,299 -1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 25,517 25,238 24,967 1.1 1.1 -0.2 25,671 25,449 25,669 0.0

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 465,719 458,872 458,416 1.5 0.1 -0.2 462,903 454,498 413,014 12.1

 Total Inventories....................... 65,062 64,210 63,186 1.3 1.6 0.8 64,986 65,198 56,644 14.7

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 67,364 66,913 67,291 0.7 -0.6 1.0 65,810 64,866 66,575 -1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 13,459 13,440 13,967 0.1 -3.8 1.9 13,510 13,499 12,831 5.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,350 7,395 7,345 -0.6 0.7 0.9 7,210 7,264 7,225 -0.2

 Total Inventories....................... 50,432 50,400 50,263 0.1 0.3 0.3 50,420 50,714 49,383 2.1

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 784,532 777,691 777,490 0.9 0.0 0.3 778,163 770,351 724,284 7.4

 Total Inventories....................... 196,544 194,296 194,475 1.2 -0.1 0.3 195,699 196,718 186,997 4.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 616,706 609,996 608,154 1.1 0.3 0.4 611,681 604,199 553,774 10.5

 Total Inventories....................... 173,566 172,164 171,349 0.8 0.5 0.3 172,969 174,756 166,054 4.2

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 230,352 229,021 227,071 0.6 0.9 1.0 227,355 227,228 212,519 7.0

 Total Inventories................... 120,226 119,457 119,543 0.6 -0.1 0.1 119,533 121,082 120,004 -0.4

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 167,826 167,695 169,336 0.1 -1.0 -0.2 166,482 166,152 170,510 -2.4

 Total Inventories....................... 22,978 22,132 23,126 3.8 -4.3 0.4 22,730 21,962 20,943 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.