FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (11)-09 

CB11-176

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

September 2011 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September decreased $1.5 billion or 0.8 percent to 

$200.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

today. This decrease, down three of the last four 

months, followed a 0.1 percent August decrease. 

Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.7 

percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.1 

percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, 

$4.0 billion or 7.5 percent to $49.6 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

September, down following four consecutive monthly 

increases, decreased $1.4 billion or 0.7 percent to $200.1 

billion. This followed a 0.1 percent August increase. 

 Transportation equipment, down two consecutive 

months, had the largest decrease, $1.3 billion or 2.7 

percent to $45.6 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, 

increased $6.9 billion or 0.8 percent to $885.3 billion. 

This followed a 0.8 percent August increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up nine consecutive 

months, had the largest increase, $3.9 billion or 0.8 

percent to $512.1 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up twenty one consecutive months, increased 

$0.4 billion or 0.1 percent to $365.6 billion. This was at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.9 percent August 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up twenty one 

consecutive months, had the largest increase, $0.5 billion 

or 0.5 percent to $112.7 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in September 

decreased $1.8 billion or 2.3 percent to $76.0 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.8 billion or 1.2 percent to $70.6 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $5.4 billion or 1.0 

percent to $521.9 billion. Inventories increased $0.3 

billion or 0.2 percent to $167.1 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in September 

increased $0.7 billion or 8.6 percent to $8.7 billion. 

Shipments increased slightly or 0.5 percent to $7.6 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $1.2 billion or 0.8 

percent to $153.0 billion. Inventories decreased $0.5 

billion or 2.2 percent to $20.1 billion. 

Revised August Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted August figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $451.6 

billion (revised from $451.0 billion); shipments, $451.2 

billion (revised from $450.2 billion); unfilled orders, 

$878.4 billion (revised from $878.8 billion); and total 

inventories, $600.7 billion (revised from $601.2 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 November 3, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for October is scheduled for release on November 23, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. EST. See back page for survey description. 
 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 

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

2011 2 2011 r 2011 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2011 2 2011 r 2010 2011 2010 11/10

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 200,128 201,499 201,376 -0.7 0.1 2.1 212,307 210,176 198,645 1,771,867 1,645,451 7.7

 New Orders4

.............................. 200,333 201,876 202,079 -0.8 -0.1 4.2 210,750 207,509 202,004 1,762,162 1,610,671 9.4

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 154,480 154,571 152,026 -0.1 1.7 0.6 162,137 160,478 148,606 1,355,735 1,244,083 9.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 150,776 148,294 148,821 1.7 -0.4 0.8 158,109 151,503 147,362 1,327,701 1,217,710 9.0

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 190,389 191,614 191,893 -0.6 -0.1 2.5 201,691 200,494 185,775 1,682,332 1,536,788 9.5

 New Orders4

.............................. 189,251 191,369 191,899 -1.1 -0.3 4.9 199,294 198,541 188,226 1,666,326 1,503,853 10.8

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 145,242 144,888 143,721 0.2 0.8 0.7 154,870 150,472 144,090 1,277,823 1,184,571 7.9

 New Orders.............................. 152,146 152,166 151,297 0.0 0.6 4.0 158,852 154,691 152,641 1,326,271 1,202,554 10.3

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 24,577 24,221 24,353 1.5 -0.5 1.7 25,522 25,994 19,547 214,024 166,207 28.8

 New Orders.............................. 25,106 24,466 24,438 2.6 0.1 7.4 25,159 26,010 19,109 213,853 171,382 24.8

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 25,388 25,068 24,848 1.3 0.9 -0.8 26,953 27,296 25,094 225,422 212,792 5.9

 New Orders.............................. 25,947 25,473 25,648 1.9 -0.7 -0.8 27,142 27,131 24,731 231,197 215,012 7.5

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 31,001 31,466 29,737 -1.5 5.8 0.7 32,015 31,559 28,444 263,265 234,783 12.1

 New Orders.............................. 32,512 31,932 32,621 1.8 -2.1 1.9 32,755 31,628 30,460 285,030 247,030 15.4

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 30,941 31,210 30,990 -0.9 0.7 1.7 32,944 30,487 33,268 272,705 266,964 2.2

 New Orders.............................. 24,208 23,957 23,749 1.0 0.9 -3.5 28,288 22,541 30,516 213,833 216,126 -1.1

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 5,902 5,811 5,822 1.6 -0.2 1.4 6,755 5,359 6,401 50,315 45,248 11.2

 New Orders.............................. 6,135 5,790 5,498 6.0 5.3 -6.4 6,988 5,338 6,493 50,192 45,287 10.8

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,198 3,074 3,033 4.0 1.4 -1.4 3,835 2,911 4,248 27,947 33,066 -15.5

 New Orders.............................. 2,852 2,869 2,736 -0.6 4.9 -21.1 3,812 2,863 4,870 26,231 32,976 -20.5

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,197 10,286 9,921 -0.9 3.7 -2.3 10,936 10,763 10,362 90,916 85,458 6.4

 New Orders.............................. 10,716 10,513 10,163 1.9 3.4 -2.7 11,122 10,634 10,568 94,186 89,233 5.6

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 45,648 46,928 49,350 -2.7 -4.9 7.0 50,170 49,698 50,039 416,132 401,368 3.7

 New Orders.............................. 49,557 53,582 53,258 -7.5 0.6 15.0 52,641 56,006 54,642 434,461 392,961 10.6

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 28,130 28,854 31,764 -2.5 -9.2 10.0 30,811 31,896 29,900 261,772 239,127 9.5

 New Orders.............................. 28,228 29,006 31,906 -2.7 -9.1 10.2 30,919 31,700 29,979 261,435 237,905 9.9

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 7,880 7,812 7,550 0.9 3.5 8.8 8,557 7,768 7,142 63,214 58,383 8.3

 New Orders.............................. 10,220 13,710 10,947 -25.5 25.2 49.9 10,270 14,464 12,828 79,731 60,371 32.1

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 3,799 4,045 3,819 -6.1 5.9 -9.4 4,333 3,870 5,543 36,520 44,647 -18.2

 New Orders.............................. 3,368 5,099 4,093 -33.9 24.6 0.1 3,551 4,427 6,428 38,660 44,827 -13.8

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 32,376 32,320 32,177 0.2 0.4 0.5 33,767 34,379 31,891 289,403 277,879 4.1

 New Orders.............................. 32,287 31,953 32,202 1.0 -0.8 0.8 33,643 33,559 31,978 289,602 278,927 3.8

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 78,224 79,027 76,690 -1.0 3.0 0.7 83,685 78,947 79,355 676,978 642,450 5.4

 New Orders.............................. 84,738 85,856 82,333 -1.3 4.3 3.1 89,007 84,244 87,810 718,633 653,176 10.0

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 70,640 71,483 69,370 -1.2 3.0 1.4 75,544 71,465 69,234 606,905 554,768 9.4

 New Orders.............................. 75,992 77,804 74,125 -2.3 5.0 4.2 80,262 77,195 77,390 642,320 568,132 13.1

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 66,067 66,694 64,677 -0.9 3.1 0.3 70,735 66,603 65,312 570,855 520,317 9.7

 New Orders.......................... 68,874 67,244 66,897 2.4 0.5 -0.3 73,381 65,681 67,985 591,523 531,663 11.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 7,584 7,544 7,320 0.5 3.1 -5.4 8,141 7,482 10,121 70,073 87,682 -20.1

 New Orders.............................. 8,746 8,052 8,208 8.6 -1.9 -6.0 8,745 7,049 10,420 76,313 85,044 -10.3

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 

Sep Aug Jul Aug - Jul - Jun - Sep Aug Sep 2011/

2011 2 2011 r 2011 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2011 2 2011 r 2010 2010

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 885,299 878,395 871,117 0.8 0.8 0.9 877,906 873,924 816,656 7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 365,555 365,183 362,100 0.1 0.9 1.1 363,846 368,393 324,314 12.2

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 373,183 370,188 369,564 0.8 0.2 1.0 370,317 368,806 331,149 11.8

 Total Inventories....................... 252,829 252,964 251,236 -0.1 0.7 0.9 251,691 255,162 228,615 10.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 713,103 707,542 700,886 0.8 0.9 1.0 708,201 705,059 654,538 8.2

 Total Inventories....................... 339,880 339,133 336,154 0.2 0.9 1.1 338,259 342,414 299,794 12.8

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 885,299 878,395 871,117 0.8 0.8 0.9 877,906 873,924 816,656 7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 299,848 299,891 297,399 0.0 0.8 1.1 298,521 302,622 264,234 13.0

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 32,374 31,845 31,600 1.7 0.8 0.3 31,490 31,853 28,876 9.1

 Total Inventories....................... 34,752 34,572 34,282 0.5 0.8 1.3 34,843 34,930 29,439 18.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 65,342 64,783 64,378 0.9 0.6 1.3 65,063 64,874 60,875 6.9

 Total Inventories....................... 45,918 46,021 45,689 -0.2 0.7 0.9 45,780 46,262 41,193 11.1

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 116,940 115,429 114,963 1.3 0.4 2.6 116,043 115,303 88,529 31.1

 Total Inventories....................... 59,464 59,395 58,562 0.1 1.4 1.4 58,853 59,685 51,524 14.2

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 123,575 123,609 123,961 0.0 -0.3 -0.3 123,152 122,269 122,566 0.5

 Total Inventories....................... 48,028 48,438 48,568 -0.8 -0.3 0.6 47,637 49,314 45,009 5.8

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,531 3,298 3,319 7.1 -0.6 -8.9 3,531 3,298 3,583 -1.5

 Total Inventories....................... 5,989 5,971 6,061 0.3 -1.5 4.8 6,033 6,297 5,557 8.6

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 27,818 28,164 28,369 -1.2 -0.7 -1.0 27,875 27,898 29,481 -5.4

 Total Inventories....................... 9,696 10,031 9,923 -3.3 1.1 -0.2 9,515 10,094 9,097 4.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 26,786 26,267 26,040 2.0 0.9 0.9 26,522 26,336 22,406 18.4

 Total Inventories....................... 15,653 15,617 15,529 0.2 0.6 0.1 15,584 15,829 14,778 5.5

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 512,116 508,207 501,553 0.8 1.3 0.8 507,589 505,118 485,507 4.5

 Total Inventories....................... 112,726 112,219 110,864 0.5 1.2 1.6 112,155 113,231 95,699 17.2

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,975 13,877 13,725 0.7 1.1 1.0 13,459 13,351 12,678 6.2

 Total Inventories....................... 26,216 25,775 25,485 1.7 1.1 1.9 26,198 26,026 22,853 14.6

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 355,888 353,548 347,650 0.7 1.7 1.0 353,933 352,220 333,067 6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 61,237 61,253 60,313 0.0 1.6 1.9 60,725 61,895 48,485 25.2

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 55,250 55,681 54,627 -0.8 1.9 0.5 54,245 55,027 51,251 5.8

 Total Inventories....................... 14,613 14,423 14,368 1.3 0.4 0.7 14,681 14,484 13,807 6.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,166 8,255 8,622 -1.1 -4.3 0.3 8,047 8,171 7,897 1.9

 Total Inventories....................... 49,014 48,921 48,606 0.2 0.6 0.3 48,994 49,142 46,672 5.0

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 674,902 668,388 661,559 1.0 1.0 0.9 669,867 664,545 620,927 7.9

 Total Inventories....................... 187,215 187,388 185,440 -0.1 1.1 1.2 185,778 189,116 162,340 14.4

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 521,898 516,546 510,225 1.0 1.2 0.9 518,955 514,237 476,204 9.0

 Total Inventories....................... 167,136 166,854 165,025 0.2 1.1 1.3 165,855 168,714 142,978 16.0

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 208,047 205,240 204,690 1.4 0.3 1.1 206,762 204,116 180,967 14.3

 Total Inventories................... 114,516 114,265 113,218 0.2 0.9 1.0 113,695 115,614 102,308 11.1

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 153,004 151,842 151,334 0.8 0.3 0.6 150,912 150,308 144,723 4.3

 Total Inventories....................... 20,079 20,534 20,415 -2.2 0.6 0.5 19,923 20,402 19,362 2.9

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.