FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (12)-9 

CB12-205

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

September 2012 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September increased $19.6 billion or 9.9 percent to 

$218.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

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

followed a 13.1 percent August decrease. Excluding 

transportation, new orders increased 2.0 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders increased 9.1 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, up five of the last six 

months, had the largest increase, $16.8 billion or 31.7 

percent to $69.6 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up two of the last three months, increased 

$1.8 billion or 0.8 percent to $224.2 billion. This 

followed a 2.9 percent August decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, also up two of the last three 

months, had the largest increase, $0.8 billion or 1.3 

percent to $64.7 billion. This followed an 8.0 percent 

August decrease. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September, up three of the last four months, increased 

$1.6 billion or 0.2 percent to $980.8 billion. This 

increase followed a 1.7 percent August decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, also up three of the last four 

months, had the largest increase, $4.9 billion or 0.9 

percent to $574.5 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up thirty-two of the last thirty-three months, 

increased $0.9 billion or 0.3 percent to $372.9 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.6 

percent August increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up thirty-two of the 

last thirty-three months, had the largest increase, $0.4 

billion or 0.4 percent to $112.6 billion. This was also at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in September 

increased $13.7 billion or 23.7 percent to $71.4 billion. 

Shipments increased $1.0 billion or 1.4 percent to $70.1 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $1.3 billion or 0.2 

percent to $582.1 billion. Inventories increased $0.9 

billion or 0.5 percent to $172.8 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in September 

increased $2.7 billion or 43.7 percent to $8.7 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.4 billion or 4.7 percent to $8.5 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.2 billion or 0.1 

percent to $165.8 billion. Inventories decreased $0.5 

billion or 2.1 percent to $21.1 billion. 

Revised August Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted August figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $453.2 

billion (revised from $452.8 billion); shipments, $477.0 

billion (revised from $476.9 billion); unfilled orders, 

$979.2 billion (revised from $978.8 billion); and total 

inventories, $611.5 billion (revised from $611.8 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 November 2, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for October is scheduled for release on November 27, 2012, 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

2012 2 2012 r 2012 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2012 2 2012 r 2011 2012 2011 12/11

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 224,211 222,398 229,046 0.8 -2.9 1.8 230,221 232,621 224,376 2,015,405 1,873,550 7.6

 New Orders4

.............................. 218,238 198,603 228,588 9.9 -13.1 3.3 223,361 203,312 224,046 1,957,299 1,866,930 4.8

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 159,480 158,474 159,589 0.6 -0.7 -0.7 162,799 164,570 162,271 1,443,248 1,358,856 6.2

 New Orders4

.............................. 148,590 145,705 148,799 2.0 -2.1 -1.4 151,189 148,192 158,532 1,376,742 1,331,748 3.4

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 213,420 211,536 218,560 0.9 -3.2 2.2 218,202 221,859 212,469 1,919,174 1,772,301 8.3

 New Orders4

.............................. 207,028 189,736 216,402 9.1 -12.3 4.7 210,982 196,200 210,808 1,862,512 1,757,821 6.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 157,342 156,060 159,749 0.8 -2.3 1.5 162,941 162,704 160,303 1,419,242 1,326,148 7.0

 New Orders.............................. 158,942 139,421 166,941 14.0 -16.5 3.4 162,929 140,333 165,995 1,424,053 1,378,972 3.3

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 28,451 28,050 28,153 1.4 -0.4 0.7 27,918 29,597 26,843 261,765 225,992 15.8

 New Orders.............................. 28,007 26,907 27,588 4.1 -2.5 2.2 26,673 28,186 26,419 255,599 225,457 13.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 27,340 27,230 27,167 0.4 0.2 -0.7 28,123 29,484 28,319 249,403 237,927 4.8

 New Orders.............................. 27,253 27,445 27,662 -0.7 -0.8 -0.2 27,576 28,884 28,755 254,433 243,843 4.3

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 32,426 32,460 32,819 -0.1 -1.1 -1.4 32,730 33,034 32,079 290,663 265,630 9.4

 New Orders.............................. 30,330 27,783 29,584 9.2 -6.1 -6.1 29,757 26,946 32,732 282,072 290,380 -2.9

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,815 27,395 28,433 1.5 -3.7 -2.0 29,610 26,677 30,886 251,015 252,994 -0.8

 New Orders.............................. 19,765 20,269 21,280 -2.5 -4.8 -2.1 23,255 19,071 26,393 193,807 192,831 0.5

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,574 2,632 2,936 -2.2 -10.4 3.9 3,217 2,395 4,161 24,577 26,749 -8.1

 New Orders.............................. 2,621 2,687 2,850 -2.5 -5.7 0.3 3,264 2,450 4,153 24,631 26,635 -7.5

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 2,970 3,084 2,996 -3.7 2.9 -2.7 3,531 2,959 3,875 27,340 29,259 -6.6

 New Orders.............................. 2,834 2,968 3,263 -4.5 -9.0 -3.4 3,929 2,919 4,526 30,191 28,037 7.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,843 9,892 9,947 -0.5 -0.6 -0.5 10,369 10,335 10,652 89,891 87,537 2.7

 New Orders.............................. 9,564 9,833 9,566 -2.7 2.8 -2.2 9,845 10,223 10,854 89,800 90,244 -0.5

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 64,731 63,924 69,457 1.3 -8.0 8.0 67,422 68,051 62,105 572,157 514,694 11.2

 New Orders.............................. 69,648 52,898 79,789 31.7 -33.7 13.2 72,172 55,120 65,514 580,557 535,182 8.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 43,525 43,549 49,279 -0.1 -11.6 12.1 43,782 47,842 40,987 390,592 346,428 12.7

 New Orders.............................. 43,346 43,500 49,235 -0.4 -11.6 12.3 43,611 47,578 41,056 389,081 345,978 12.5

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 10,342 9,179 9,757 12.7 -5.9 6.3 11,370 9,058 9,371 83,597 68,277 22.4

 New Orders.............................. 14,663 535 19,199 2,640.7 -97.2 51.1 15,617 30 11,007 98,533 85,114 15.8

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,452 4,587 4,331 -2.9 5.9 -6.8 5,204 4,537 4,798 40,833 40,703 0.3

 New Orders.............................. 5,711 4,490 4,556 27.2 -1.4 -11.4 6,499 3,236 4,077 41,994 42,777 -1.8

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 33,605 33,447 33,070 0.5 1.1 0.0 34,049 35,443 33,492 300,511 288,776 4.1

 New Orders.............................. 33,671 33,468 33,119 0.6 1.1 -0.1 34,083 34,882 33,379 301,031 288,993 4.2

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 78,647 77,307 78,727 1.7 -1.8 -0.8 82,840 77,713 81,907 700,525 662,100 5.8

 New Orders.............................. 80,114 63,772 86,121 25.6 -26.0 1.8 84,185 60,682 87,845 712,099 709,465 0.4

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 70,140 69,182 70,476 1.4 -1.8 -0.3 73,498 69,629 72,546 625,953 580,875 7.8

 New Orders.............................. 71,395 57,704 75,941 23.7 -24.0 4.4 74,846 55,775 77,448 638,665 620,455 2.9

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 62,838 63,048 63,787 -0.3 -1.2 -1.6 65,701 63,449 67,113 571,278 541,117 5.6

 New Orders.......................... 60,270 60,253 60,113 0.0 0.2 -5.6 62,958 58,400 69,949 570,569 566,093 0.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,507 8,125 8,251 4.7 -1.5 -4.7 9,342 8,084 9,361 74,572 81,225 -8.2

 New Orders.............................. 8,719 6,068 10,180 43.7 -40.4 -14.3 9,339 4,907 10,397 73,434 89,010 -17.5

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 2012/

2012 2 2012 r 2012 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2012 2 2012 r 2011 2011

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 980,813 979,213 995,852 0.2 -1.7 0.7 970,734 970,746 929,098 4.5

 Total Inventories....................... 372,881 371,944 369,847 0.3 0.6 0.9 371,216 375,657 351,805 5.5

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 406,340 409,657 415,270 -0.8 -1.4 -0.8 401,668 406,430 394,341 1.9

 Total Inventories....................... 260,273 259,767 259,271 0.2 0.2 0.7 258,948 262,131 249,854 3.6

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 790,716 789,535 804,179 0.1 -1.8 0.7 782,663 783,035 736,285 6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 347,051 345,608 343,799 0.4 0.5 0.9 345,516 349,401 326,003 6.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 980,813 979,213 995,852 0.2 -1.7 0.7 970,734 970,746 929,098 4.5

 Total Inventories....................... 302,342 301,406 299,673 0.3 0.6 0.8 301,011 304,586 284,210 5.9

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 31,216 31,660 32,803 -1.4 -3.5 -1.7 29,836 31,081 32,615 -8.5

 Total Inventories....................... 34,204 34,119 34,096 0.2 0.1 0.1 34,328 34,344 35,152 -2.3

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 82,992 83,079 82,864 -0.1 0.3 0.6 82,401 82,948 77,316 6.6

 Total Inventories....................... 46,125 46,000 45,892 0.3 0.2 0.1 46,036 46,306 45,008 2.3

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 127,824 129,920 134,597 -1.6 -3.5 -2.3 125,871 128,844 127,676 -1.4

 Total Inventories....................... 67,182 67,006 66,586 0.3 0.6 1.4 66,447 67,573 59,829 11.1

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 136,147 136,624 136,594 -0.3 0.0 0.4 135,821 135,328 130,193 4.3

 Total Inventories....................... 46,670 46,460 46,453 0.5 0.0 0.8 46,260 47,286 45,432 1.8

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,210 1,163 1,108 4.0 5.0 -7.2 1,210 1,163 1,150 5.2

 Total Inventories....................... 3,899 3,956 4,000 -1.4 -1.1 2.1 3,885 4,176 4,123 -5.8

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 33,594 33,730 33,846 -0.4 -0.3 0.8 33,812 33,414 31,180 8.4

 Total Inventories....................... 8,616 8,552 8,571 0.7 -0.2 0.1 8,500 8,649 8,834 -3.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 20,840 21,119 21,178 -1.3 -0.3 -1.8 20,637 21,161 19,836 4.0

 Total Inventories....................... 15,451 15,438 15,460 0.1 -0.1 0.3 15,198 15,651 14,851 2.3

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 574,473 569,556 580,582 0.9 -1.9 1.8 569,066 564,316 534,757 6.4

 Total Inventories....................... 112,608 112,177 110,576 0.4 1.4 1.4 112,268 113,526 101,951 10.1

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,222 16,401 16,450 -1.1 -0.3 -0.3 15,607 15,778 16,093 -3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 25,128 25,132 24,927 0.0 0.8 1.3 25,140 25,429 24,266 3.6

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 403,883 399,562 408,206 1.1 -2.1 2.4 400,693 396,446 358,391 11.8

 Total Inventories....................... 61,184 60,260 59,086 1.5 2.0 1.1 60,882 61,156 52,250 16.5

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 61,496 60,237 60,334 2.1 -0.2 0.4 60,517 59,222 58,211 4.0

 Total Inventories....................... 13,158 13,615 13,343 -3.4 2.0 0.9 13,254 13,715 13,218 0.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,321 7,255 7,234 0.9 0.3 0.7 7,102 7,068 6,705 5.9

 Total Inventories....................... 50,641 50,744 50,784 -0.2 -0.1 0.9 50,679 50,971 49,582 2.2

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 747,927 746,460 759,995 0.2 -1.8 1.0 741,020 739,675 701,580 5.6

 Total Inventories....................... 193,948 193,534 191,790 0.2 0.9 1.3 192,533 195,915 177,047 8.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 582,114 580,859 592,337 0.2 -1.9 0.9 576,827 575,479 532,265 8.4

 Total Inventories....................... 172,801 171,928 170,498 0.5 0.8 1.2 171,612 174,489 156,647 9.6

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 235,233 237,801 240,596 -1.1 -1.2 -1.5 232,698 235,441 226,086 2.9

 Total Inventories................... 121,520 121,422 121,106 0.1 0.3 1.3 120,537 123,210 112,968 6.7

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 165,813 165,601 167,658 0.1 -1.2 1.2 164,193 164,196 169,315 -3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 21,147 21,606 21,292 -2.1 1.5 1.9 20,921 21,426 20,400 2.6

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.