FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Jessica Young 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (10)-08 

CB10-148

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

August 2010 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in August 

decreased $2.5 billion or 1.3 percent to $191.2 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. Down three 

of the last four months, this decrease followed a 0.7 

percent July increase. Excluding transportation, new 

orders increased 2.0 percent. Excluding defense, new 

orders decreased 1.2 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down three of the last 

four months, had the largest decrease, $5.3 billion or 

10.3 percent to $46.6 billion. This was due to 

nondefense aircraft and parts, which decreased $3.6 

billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, 

down following two consecutive monthly increases, 

decreased $3.1 billion or 1.5 percent to $197.9 billion. 

This followed a 2.5 percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, 

$3.1 billion or 5.9 percent to $49.5 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

August, down two consecutive months, decreased $0.8 

billion or 0.1 percent to $802.4 billion. This followed a 

0.1 percent July decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, down four consecutive 

months, had the largest decrease, $3.0 billion or 0.6 

percent to $473.1 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in August, 

up eight consecutive months, increased $1.3 billion or 

0.4 percent to $312.4 billion. This followed a 0.6 

percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up eight consecutive 

months, had the largest increase, $0.6 billion or 0.7 

percent to $80.9 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $0.6 billion or 0.9 percent to $64.9 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.2 billion or 0.3 percent to $65.4 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.5 billion or 0.1 

percent to $487.2 billion. Inventories increased $1.1 

billion or 0.8 percent to $130.8 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $0.1 billion or 1.5 percent to $9.4 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.4 billion or 4.2 percent to $9.2 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.2 billion or 0.1 

percent to $139.8 billion. Inventories decreased $0.3 

billion or 1.9 percent to $17.6 billion. 

Revised July Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted July figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $410.0 

billion (revised from $409.5 billion); shipments, $417.4 

billion (revised from $417.1 billion); unfilled orders, 

$803.2 billion (revised from $802.8 billion); and total 

inventories, $525.8 billion (revised from $526.0 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 October 4, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for September is scheduled for release on October 27, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. See back page for survey description. 
 2

Table 1. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders1

[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 

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug Change

2010 2 2010 r 2010 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2010 2 2010 r 2009 2010 2009 10/09

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments ............................... 197,941 201,054 196,120 -1.5 2.5 0.2 203,302 187,989 185,082 1,548,985 1,429,930 8.3

 New Orders 4

.............................. 191,174 193,664 192,327 -1.3 0.7 -0.2 194,331 177,114 173,273 1,509,935 1,310,661 15.2

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 148,422 148,439 146,850 0.0 1.1 -1.1 152,289 145,707 136,209 1,166,172 1,063,562 9.6

 New Orders 4

.............................. 144,616 141,776 145,817 2.0 -2.8 0.2 146,964 137,210 127,833 1,139,629 993,931 14.7

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 186,083 188,889 183,885 -1.5 2.7 0.2 191,804 176,891 171,562 1,448,403 1,327,413 9.1

 New Orders 4

.............................. 179,254 181,472 180,199 -1.2 0.7 0.2 183,960 167,975 162,035 1,411,498 1,216,709 16.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 143,952 145,454 143,816 -1.0 1.1 0.6 147,487 135,586 133,778 1,128,082 1,039,254 8.5

 New Orders .............................. 143,137 144,737 144,635 -1.1 0.1 -0.4 144,533 132,919 126,902 1,135,178 957,718 18.5

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 19,855 19,828 19,830 0.1 0.0 -1.4 21,281 19,447 15,898 159,403 116,956 36.3

 New Orders.............................. 19,796 19,339 19,289 2.4 0.3 -3.9 21,636 19,206 16,501 161,323 113,975 41.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 27,125 27,012 27,413 0.4 -1.5 -0.8 29,304 26,737 27,381 217,275 207,097 4.9

 New Orders.............................. 27,356 27,083 27,489 1.0 -1.5 1.6 28,959 26,563 26,329 219,305 198,397 10.5

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 25,359 24,403 25,157 3.9 -3.0 1.4 24,706 23,247 21,184 194,880 185,185 5.2

 New Orders.............................. 26,609 25,614 28,336 3.9 -9.6 4.1 25,609 24,723 20,117 206,616 171,177 20.7

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 33,639 34,361 31,672 -2.1 8.5 -3.0 32,513 33,606 29,204 254,783 226,878 12.3

 New Orders .............................. 28,376 27,347 27,486 3.8 -0.5 -0.9 26,778 24,411 22,762 208,190 184,955 12.6

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 6,607 6,351 6,062 4.0 4.8 1.4 6,026 6,302 4,686 45,967 40,609 13.2

 New Orders.............................. 6,661 5,945 6,352 12.0 -6.4 1.2 6,080 5,896 4,574 45,928 38,966 17.9

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,458 3,560 3,464 -2.9 2.8 -6.2 3,368 3,125 3,732 27,639 28,001 -1.3

 New Orders.............................. 3,933 3,601 3,228 9.2 11.6 1.4 3,982 2,884 3,508 26,884 28,396 -5.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,579 9,559 9,515 0.2 0.5 0.7 9,913 9,280 8,960 75,095 71,268 5.4

 New Orders.............................. 9,601 9,557 10,082 0.5 -5.2 3.8 9,706 9,468 8,839 78,692 69,907 12.6

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 49,519 52,615 49,270 -5.9 6.8 4.1 51,013 42,282 48,873 382,813 366,368 4.5

 New Orders.............................. 46,558 51,888 46,510 -10.3 11.6 -1.1 47,367 39,904 45,440 370,306 316,730 16.9

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 30,973 32,620 31,200 -5.0 4.6 4.8 32,982 25,160 29,671 236,154 208,973 13.0

 New Orders.............................. 30,880 32,310 30,899 -4.4 4.6 3.9 32,669 25,007 29,390 234,761 207,332 13.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 7,455 8,616 6,644 -13.5 29.7 7.3 7,313 7,074 6,762 54,102 60,817 -11.0

 New Orders.............................. 5,354 8,949 5,292 -40.2 69.1 -25.3 5,333 6,913 4,781 50,450 27,794 81.5

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,987 5,010 5,217 -0.5 -4.0 3.6 4,727 4,487 5,458 41,387 40,782 1.5

 New Orders.............................. 4,665 4,795 5,295 -2.7 -9.4 5.7 3,786 4,067 4,141 40,647 39,734 2.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 32,865 33,276 33,263 -1.2 0.0 -1.6 34,572 33,390 33,582 264,736 256,178 3.3

 New Orders.............................. 32,878 32,836 33,135 0.1 -0.9 -2.1 34,276 32,839 33,285 265,503 255,520 3.9

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 74,622 75,242 73,494 -0.8 2.4 1.3 72,996 69,922 67,162 575,437 549,833 4.7

 New Orders.............................. 74,288 74,988 75,628 -0.9 -0.8 0.2 70,720 67,365 60,020 578,323 481,205 20.2

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 65,447 65,667 63,759 -0.3 3.0 1.8 63,943 61,106 56,040 494,464 466,661 6.0

 New Orders.............................. 64,928 65,487 65,965 -0.9 -0.7 1.1 62,430 60,541 50,930 499,642 405,891 23.1

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 60,879 59,902 59,847 1.6 0.1 0.9 59,545 56,579 51,959 462,649 428,700 7.9

 New Orders......................... 62,402 59,935 63,279 4.1 -5.3 3.6 59,922 56,637 49,031 471,292 402,979 17.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,175 9,575 9,735 -4.2 -1.6 -1.9 9,053 8,816 11,122 80,973 83,172 -2.6

 New Orders.............................. 9,360 9,501 9,663 -1.5 -1.7 -5.8 8,290 6,824 9,090 78,681 75,314 4.5

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 Inventories1

[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 

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug 2010/

2010 2 2010 r 2010 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2010 2 2010 r 2009 2009

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 802,365 803,180 803,897 -0.1 -0.1 0.1 799,782 802,736 811,114 -1.4

 Total Inventories....................... 312,444 311,138 309,396 0.4 0.6 1.2 314,975 313,106 301,459 4.5

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 329,299 327,153 327,143 0.7 0.0 1.1 329,332 328,640 310,793 6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 231,495 230,767 229,322 0.3 0.6 1.3 233,006 231,775 223,767 4.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 648,863 649,740 650,484 -0.1 -0.1 0.1 648,375 650,202 651,365 -0.5

 Total Inventories....................... 289,558 287,909 286,256 0.6 0.6 1.3 292,148 289,906 278,533 4.9

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 802,365 803,180 803,897 -0.1 -0.1 0.1 799,782 802,736 811,114 -1.4

 Total Inventories....................... 253,894 252,778 251,239 0.4 0.6 1.3 256,049 254,586 242,787 5.5

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 17,492 17,551 18,040 -0.3 -2.7 -2.9 18,291 17,936 16,955 7.9

 Total Inventories....................... 30,635 30,891 30,888 -0.8 0.0 0.7 31,015 31,270 26,919 15.2

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 54,108 53,877 53,806 0.4 0.1 0.1 54,104 54,449 53,413 1.3

 Total Inventories....................... 42,123 41,971 41,722 0.4 0.6 1.3 42,120 42,266 39,964 5.4

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 99,130 97,880 96,669 1.3 1.3 3.4 98,902 97,999 86,450 14.4

 Total Inventories....................... 51,659 51,289 50,468 0.7 1.6 0.9 51,723 51,086 51,583 0.3

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 121,964 121,275 121,616 0.6 -0.3 0.4 121,062 120,780 120,655 0.3

 Total Inventories....................... 45,506 45,253 45,198 0.6 0.1 2.5 46,201 45,409 43,956 5.1

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 5,332 5,278 5,684 1.0 -7.1 5.4 5,332 5,278 3,875 37.6

 Total Inventories....................... 4,785 4,859 4,963 -1.5 -2.1 5.8 5,019 4,831 4,338 15.7

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 28,178 27,703 27,662 1.7 0.1 -0.8 28,019 27,405 28,907 -3.1

 Total Inventories....................... 8,099 8,054 7,936 0.6 1.5 4.1 8,117 8,000 7,650 6.1

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 24,368 24,346 24,348 0.1 0.0 2.4 24,698 24,905 21,928 12.6

 Total Inventories....................... 14,578 14,430 14,211 1.0 1.5 2.2 14,732 14,602 13,974 5.4

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 473,066 476,027 476,754 -0.6 -0.2 -0.6 470,450 474,096 500,321 -6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 80,949 80,371 80,074 0.7 0.4 1.1 81,969 81,331 77,692 5.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,385 13,478 13,788 -0.7 -2.2 -2.1 13,255 13,568 14,587 -9.1

 Total Inventories....................... 21,056 20,934 20,750 0.6 0.9 1.3 21,194 20,991 18,174 16.6

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 321,080 323,181 322,848 -0.7 0.1 -0.4 319,913 321,893 332,995 -3.9

 Total Inventories....................... 37,380 36,682 36,500 1.9 0.5 1.3 38,132 37,556 34,999 9.0

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 47,391 47,713 47,928 -0.7 -0.4 0.2 47,008 47,949 49,985 -6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 12,020 12,106 12,033 -0.7 0.6 -0.9 12,091 12,168 12,402 -2.5

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 12,237 12,224 12,664 0.1 -3.5 -1.0 12,275 12,571 11,392 7.8

 Total Inventories....................... 46,994 46,933 46,835 0.1 0.2 0.6 47,215 47,142 47,371 -0.3

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 627,029 627,363 627,617 -0.1 0.0 0.3 623,338 625,614 636,837 -2.1

 Total Inventories....................... 148,351 147,609 146,629 0.5 0.7 1.3 149,802 148,445 145,049 3.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 487,189 487,708 487,888 -0.1 0.0 0.5 485,347 486,860 491,025 -1.2

 Total Inventories....................... 130,763 129,672 128,737 0.8 0.7 1.5 132,344 130,599 127,524 3.8

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 196,280 194,757 194,724 0.8 0.0 1.8 195,505 195,128 188,145 3.9

 Total Inventories................... 101,719 101,274 100,466 0.4 0.8 1.4 102,639 101,363 100,866 1.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 139,840 139,655 139,729 0.1 -0.1 -0.1 137,991 138,754 145,812 -5.4

 Total Inventories....................... 17,588 17,937 17,892 -1.9 0.3 0.3 17,458 17,846 17,525 -0.4

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-in-process, 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 64 publication levels. The survey methodology assumes that the month-tomonth changes of the total operations of those companies in the monthly survey effectively represent the month-tomonth 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-tomonth 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.