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FOR RELEASE AT 10:00 AM EST, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018

MONTHLY FULL REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, INVENTORIES AND ORDERS

OCTOBER 2018

Release Number: CB 18‐183 M3‐2 (18)‐10

December 6, 2018 — The U.S. Census Bureau announces the October full report on manufacturers’

shipments, inventories and orders:

MANUFACTURED GOODS – NEW ORDERS

OCTOBER 2018 $502.7 billion            ‐2.1%°

SEPTEMBER 2018  

(revised) $513.2 billion             +0.2%°

Next release: January 7, 2019

Data adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes.

Statistical significance is not measurable for this survey.  The Manufacturers' Shipments,

Inventories, and Orders estimates are not based on a probability sample, so the sampling

error of these estimates cannot be measured nor can the confidence intervals be computed.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders, December

6, 2018.

Summary

New orders for manufactured goods in October, down following two consecutive monthly increases,

decreased $10.5 billion or 2.1 percent to $502.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.  This

followed a 0.2 percent September increase.  Shipments, down following fifteen consecutive monthly

increases, decreased $0.5 billion or 0.1 percent to $508.4 billion.  This followed a 0.7 percent September

increase.  Unfilled orders, down following eight consecutive monthly increases, decreased $1.7 billion or

0.1 percent to $1,183.6 billion.  This followed a 0.7 percent September increase.  The unfilled orders‐to‐

shipments ratio was 6.70, up from 6.65 in September.  Inventories, up twenty‐four consecutive months,

increased $0.9 billion or 0.1 percent to $681.7 billion.  This followed a 0.6 percent September increase.  

The inventories‐to‐shipments ratio was 1.34, unchanged from September.

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in October, down three of the last four months, decreased

$11.2 billion or 4.3 percent to $249.0 billion, up from the previously published 4.4 percent decrease.  This

followed a virtually unchanged September decrease.  Transportation equipment, down following two

consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $11.6 billion or 12.0 percent to $84.8 billion.  New

orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $0.7 billion or 0.3 percent to $253.7 billion.

Nov‐17 Dec‐17 Jan‐18 Feb‐18 Mar‐18 Apr‐18 May‐18 Jun‐18 Jul‐18 Aug‐18 Sep‐18 Oct‐18

% Change 2.0% 1.8% ‐1.6% 2.0% 1.7% ‐0.4% 0.4% 0.6% ‐0.5% 2.6% 0.2% ‐2.1%

‐4.0%

‐3.0%

‐2.0%

‐1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

MANUFACTURERS' NEW ORDERS 2017‐2018

Seasonally Adjusted,   Month‐To‐Month Percentage Change

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders,

December 6, 2018
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Shipments

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in October, down following two consecutive monthly increases,

decreased $1.2 billion or 0.5 percent to $254.6 billion, up from the previously published 0.6 percent

decrease.  This followed a 0.9 percent September increase.  Transportation equipment, also down

following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $1.5 billion or 1.7 percent to $87.6

billion.  Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up sixteen of the last seventeen months, increased

$0.7 billion or 0.3 percent to $253.7 billion.  This followed a 0.5 percent September increase.  Petroleum

and coal products, up fifteen of the last sixteen months, drove the increase, $0.9 billion or 1.6 percent to

$59.1 billion.

Unfilled Orders

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in October, down following eight consecutive monthly

increases, decreased $1.7 billion or 0.1 percent to $1,183.6 billion, up from the previously published 0.2

percent decrease.  This followed a 0.7 percent September increase.  Transportation equipment, down

following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $2.8 billion or 0.3 percent to $815.2

billion.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in October, up twenty‐one of the last twenty‐two months,

increased $0.3 billion or 0.1 percent to $411.3 billion, up from the previously published virtually

unchanged decrease.  This followed a 0.8 percent September increase.  Transportation equipment, up

three of the last four months, drove the increase, $0.5 billion or 0.4 percent to $131.1 billion.  Inventories

of manufactured nondurable goods, up sixteen consecutive months, increased $0.6 billion or 0.2 percent

to $270.3 billion.  This followed a 0.4 percent September increase.  Chemical products, up twelve of the

last thirteen months, drove the increase, $0.6 billion or 0.7 percent to $90.5 billion.  By stage of

fabrication, October materials and supplies increased 0.5 percent in durable goods and increased 0.2

percent in nondurable goods.  Work in process decreased 0.1 percent in durable goods and decreased 1.1

percent in nondurable goods.  Finished goods decreased 0.2 percent in durable goods and increased 0.9

percent in nondurable goods.  

The Advance Report on durable goods for November is scheduled for release on December 21, 2018 at

8:30 a.m. EST and the Full Report on January 7, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. EST. View the full schedule in the

Economic Briefing Room: <www.census.gov/economic‐indicators/>.  The full text and tables of this release

can be found at <www.census.gov/m3>.
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EXPLANATORY NOTES

Figures in text are adjusted for seasonality, but not for inflation.  Figures on new and unfilled orders

exclude data for semiconductor manufacturing.   

“Virtually unchanged” indicates that the change is less than 0.05 percent for a percent increase or

decrease.   

Description of the survey  

This report is compiled from results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories,

and Orders (M3) survey, which is a voluntary survey authorized by Title 13 of the United States Code.  This

survey provides statistics on a calendar‐month basis for 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).  Data published from the M3 survey are based on a panel of approximately

5,000 reporting units that represent approximately 3,100 companies and provide an indication of month‐

to‐month change for the Manufacturing Sector.  These reporting units June be divisions of diversified large

companies, large homogenous companies, or single‐unit manufacturers in 92 industry categories, which

are combined into 65 publication levels due to the small monthly panel size.  The survey methodology

assumes that the month‐to‐month changes of the total operations of the reporting units in the M3 panel

effectively represent the month‐to‐month movements of all establishments that make up the category.  

The companies for which shipments data are currently reported or imputed in the M3 survey represent

approximately 64 percent of the total value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2012

Economic Census, and these companies include almost two‐thirds of the manufacturing companies with

$500 million or more in shipments in the 2012 Economic Census.  The companies for which shipments data

are currently reported in the M3 survey represent approximately 57 percent of the total value of

shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2012 Economic Census.  Statistics based on the M3

panel differ from the results that would be obtained from a complete enumeration of all manufacturing

companies.  The M3 panel is not based on 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  
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revisions made later than two months will be reflected in the annual benchmark publication.  Additional

survey documentation can be found on our web site:  

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.

Hurricanes

For information on the impact of recent hurricanes on the compilation of this report, please see the

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our website at:

<https://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/hurricanesfaqsm3.pdf>.

RESOURCES

API

The Census Bureau’s application programming interface (API) lets developers create custom apps to reach

new users and makes key demographic, socio‐economic and housing statistics more accessible than ever

before.  

<www.census.gov/developers/>.

NEW TIME SERIES

Beginning with the release of June 2018 data on July 26, 2018, historical estimates of the Monthly Advance

Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders are available on a seasonally adjusted basis

as well as a not seasonally adjusted basis at: <https://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/>.   

FRED Mobile App

Receive the latest updates on the nation’s key economic indicators by downloading

the FRED App <https://fred.stlouisfed.org/fred‐mobile/> for both Apple and

Android devices.  FRED, the signature database of the Federal Reserve Bank of St.

Louis, now incorporates the Census Bureau’s 13 economic indicators.
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2019 Release Dates

Survey month Advance Report                      

(8:30 a.m. release time)

Full Report                             

(10:00 a.m. release time)

Nov‐18 Fri 12/21/2018 Mon 1/7/2019

Dec‐18 Fri 1/25/2019 Mon 2/4/2019

Jan‐19 Wed 2/27/2019 Wed 3/6/2019

Feb‐19 Tue 3/26/2019 Wed 4/3/2019

Mar‐19 Thu 4/25/2019 Thu 5/2/2019

Apr‐19 Fri 5/24/2019 Tue 6/4/2019

May‐19 Wed 6/26/2019 Wed 7/3/2019

Jun‐19 Thu 7/25/2019 Fri 8/2/2019

Jul‐19 Mon 8/26/2019 Thu 9/5/2019

Aug‐19 Fri 9/27/2019 Thu 10/3/2019

Sep‐19 Thu 10/24/2019 Mon 11/4/2019

Oct‐19 Wed 11/27/2019 Thu 12/5/2019

Nov‐19 Tue12/24/2019 Not available at this time

Source: <https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp‐content/uploads/2018/09/pfei_schedule_releasedates_2019.pdf>

###
Table 1.  Value of Manufacturers' Shipments for Industry Groups1

[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

Industry % Change

Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. ‐ Aug. ‐ July ‐ Oct. Sep. Aug. Oct. 2018/

2018p 2018r 2018 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2018p 2018r 2018 2017 2018p 2017 2017

  All manufacturing industries.................. 508,363 508,879 505,207 ‐0.1 0.7 0.7 526,512 516,992 529,157 486,150 5,013,074 4,660,721 7.6

      Excluding transportation................... 420,728 419,707 418,647 0.2 0.3 0.4 434,354 424,081 436,438 404,125 4,159,876 3,863,263 7.7

      Excluding defense.............................. 494,259 495,062 491,454 ‐0.2 0.7 0.7 512,655 501,929 515,436 473,490 4,880,749 4,539,854 7.5

      With unfilled orders............................ 176,707 178,246 176,516 ‐0.9 1.0 1.8 180,833 184,838 184,753 166,601 1,746,420 1,623,801 7.6

  Durable goods industries......................... 254,648 255,840 253,456 ‐0.5 0.9 0.9 264,832 263,398 267,539 243,336 2,512,278 2,341,705 7.3

  Wood products....................................... 9,293 9,398 9,481 ‐1.1 ‐0.9 ‐0.5 9,874 9,540 10,192 9,727 95,653 92,181 3.8

  Nonmetallic mineral products.................... 10,960 10,905 10,984 0.5 ‐0.7 0.2 12,202 11,106 12,503 11,648 110,772 106,671 3.8

  Primary metals....................................... 21,599 21,750 21,770 ‐0.7 ‐0.1 0.6 22,165 21,297 23,152 19,126 215,537 186,712 15.4

      Iron and steel mills............................ 11,089 11,099 11,014 ‐0.1 0.8 0.6 11,440 10,775 11,803 9,477 107,879 91,474 17.9

      Aluminum and nonferrous metals.......... 9,137 9,315 9,376 ‐1.9 ‐0.7 0.7 9,326 9,151 9,846 8,301 93,642 81,683 14.6

      Ferrous metal foundries....................... 1,373 1,336 1,380 2.8 ‐3.2 ‐0.9 1,399 1,371 1,503 1,348 14,016 13,555 3.4

  Fabricated metal products....................... 33,099 32,913 32,967 0.6 ‐0.2 0.1 34,958 33,156 35,501 32,207 330,251 301,924 9.4

  Machinery............................................. 32,799 32,698 32,894 0.3 ‐0.6 ‐0.3 33,031 32,690 33,401 31,598 327,101 306,617 6.7

      Farm machinery................................. 2,516 2,531 2,435 ‐0.6 3.9 ‐6.8 2,374 2,325 2,218 2,267 26,117 22,007 18.7

      Construction machinery..................... 2,920 2,969 3,022 ‐1.7 ‐1.8 0.6 3,119 2,861 3,006 2,934 29,690 26,641 11.4

      Mining, oil field, and

          gas field machinery.......................... 1,464 1,496 1,538 ‐2.1 ‐2.7 ‐0.2 1,513 1,568 1,536 1,566 15,104 14,755 2.4

      Industrial machinery.......................... 2,691 2,763 2,803 ‐2.6 ‐1.4 2.7 2,644 3,069 2,783 2,577 26,350 25,916 1.7

      Photographic equipment...................... 594 585 524 1.5 11.6 ‐13.4 591 623 496 467 5,445 5,153 5.7

      Ventilation, heating, air‐conditioning,

          and refrigeration equipment............ 3,893 3,863 3,883 0.8 ‐0.5 ‐0.8 3,626 3,851 4,264 3,373 39,113 37,210 5.1

      Metalworking machinery..................... 2,582 2,496 2,626 3.4 ‐5.0 ‐5.3 2,775 2,595 2,670 2,838 26,926 25,655 5.0

      Turbines, generators, and other

          power transmission equipment....... 4,475 4,492 4,384 ‐0.4 2.5 6.8 4,578 4,364 4,507 4,264 42,292 39,113 8.1

      Material handling equipment............... 2,706 2,701 2,732 0.2 ‐1.1 1.5 2,853 2,636 2,971 2,634 26,994 24,909 8.4

  Computers and electronic products2

.......... 27,353 27,121 27,129 0.9 0.0 0.0 27,640 29,984 27,326 25,835 263,983 248,696 6.1

      Computers........................................ 827 830 848 ‐0.4 ‐2.1 1.0 783 996 886 758 7,853 8,314 ‐5.5

      Computer storage devices..................... 291 273 306 6.6 ‐10.8 ‐10.8 237 371 269 257 2,703 4,946 ‐45.3

      Other peripheral equipment................ 803 789 785 1.8 0.5 ‐0.4 764 898 721 720 7,286 6,288 15.9

      Nondefense communications

          equipment.................................... 3,270 3,279 3,225 ‐0.3 1.7 ‐0.7 2,967 4,005 2,939 2,781 31,119 27,988 11.2

      Defense communications equipment.... 333 307 304 8.5 1.0 2.7 337 340 312 265 2,858 2,479 15.3

      Audio and video equipment.................... 269 245 233 9.8 5.2 ‐0.9 386 248 232 353 2,277 2,453 ‐7.2

      Electronic components......................... 3,444 3,396 3,396 1.4 0.0 1.5 3,461 3,542 3,660 3,533 34,830 34,310 1.5

      Nondefense search and navigation

          equipment...................................... 1,563 1,517 1,531 3.0 ‐0.9 ‐0.1 1,533 1,682 1,535 1,437 15,142 14,297 5.9

      Defense search and navigation

          equipment..................................... 2,790 2,734 2,774 2.0 ‐1.4 0.8 2,768 2,982 2,807 2,714 27,051 26,118 3.6

      Electromedical, measuring,

          and control instruments................. 9,445 9,304 9,456 1.5 ‐1.6 ‐0.7 9,090 10,423 9,260 8,194 90,272 80,277 12.5

  Electrical equipment, appliances,        

    and components................................... 11,523 11,595 11,465 ‐0.6 1.1 1.3 11,983 12,101 12,101 11,158 113,427 107,081 5.9

      Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,041 1,040 1,050 0.1 ‐1.0 0.5 1,110 1,048 1,101 1,107 10,523 10,714 ‐1.8

      Household appliances........................ 1,776 1,759 1,740 1.0 1.1 1.3 1,930 1,855 1,831 1,808 17,168 17,565 ‐2.3

      Electrical equipment............................ 3,090 3,189 3,160 ‐3.1 0.9 0.3 2,955 3,386 3,302 2,825 31,167 29,753 4.8

      Batteries........................................... 928 928 926 0.0 0.2 ‐4.5 1,127 944 996 1,130 9,247 9,063 2.0

  Transportation equipment........................ 87,635 89,172 86,560 ‐1.7 3.0 2.4 92,158 92,911 92,719 82,025 853,198 797,458 7.0

      Automobiles..................................... 9,468 8,638 8,561 9.6 0.9 0.0 10,212 8,633 9,589 9,962 91,714 99,442 ‐7.8

      Light trucks and utility vehicles.............. 20,996 21,544 21,082 ‐2.5 2.2 ‐2.9 23,044 21,971 23,462 18,434 198,657 164,738 20.6

      Heavy duty trucks ............................. 2,776 2,772 2,792 0.1 ‐0.7 ‐0.2 3,047 2,760 2,951 2,774 27,454 24,253 13.2

      Motor vehicle bodies, parts,       

          and trailers.................................... 27,597 27,593 27,468 0.0 0.5 1.0 29,894 27,005 29,868 26,934 273,642 259,254 5.5

      Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 12,694 14,794 12,778 ‐14.2 15.8 19.9 11,820 17,495 12,845 10,973 128,730 126,770 1.5

      Defense aircraft and parts.................. 4,759 4,767 4,693 ‐0.2 1.6 ‐1.0 4,613 5,380 4,677 4,467 44,303 42,575 4.1

      Ships and boats................................. 2,717 2,752 2,738 ‐1.3 0.5 ‐2.1 2,803 2,785 2,650 2,786 27,710 26,740 3.6

  Furniture and related products.................. 6,531 6,444 6,484 1.4 ‐0.6 ‐0.7 6,623 6,428 7,094 6,408 65,245 63,294 3.1

  Miscellaneous durable goods................. 13,856 13,844 13,722 0.1 0.9 ‐0.2 14,198 14,185 13,550 13,604 137,111 131,071 4.6

  Nondurable goods industries..................... 253,715 253,039 251,751 0.3 0.5 0.6 261,680 253,594 261,618 242,814 2,500,796 2,319,016 7.8

  Food products....................................... 67,083 66,985 67,464 0.1 ‐0.7 ‐0.1 70,356 68,204 68,637 70,081 671,929 662,549 1.4

      Grain and oilseed milling....................... 7,596 7,710 7,915 ‐1.5 ‐2.6 ‐0.5 8,310 7,488 8,099 8,217 78,225 74,140 5.5

      Dairy products.................................. 9,359 9,335 9,367 0.3 ‐0.3 ‐0.4 9,688 9,302 9,571 9,906 94,215 96,422 ‐2.3

      Meat, poultry, and seafood products... 19,230 19,106 19,346 0.6 ‐1.2 ‐0.2 19,370 19,261 19,838 19,522 194,039 192,918 0.6

  Beverage and tobacco products................ 12,701 12,888 12,966 ‐1.5 ‐0.6 2.1 12,709 13,040 13,504 11,823 125,976 124,532 1.2

      Beverages......................................... 8,785 8,780 8,823 0.1 ‐0.5 0.0 8,793 8,932 9,361 8,298 87,458 86,800 0.8

      Tobacco............................................ 3,916 4,108 4,143 ‐4.7 ‐0.8 6.9 3,916 4,108 4,143 3,525 38,518 37,732 2.1

  Textile mills........................................... 2,504 2,527 2,538 ‐0.9 ‐0.4 0.2 2,592 2,526 2,705 2,540 25,400 24,694 2.9

  Textile products................................... 2,389 2,346 2,306 1.8 1.7 0.5 2,420 2,297 2,425 2,147 22,995 21,263 8.1

  Apparel................................................ 993 990 984 0.3 0.6 2.5 1,148 1,017 1,105 1,027 9,591 8,891 7.9

  Leather and allied products...................... 397 399 417 ‐0.5 ‐4.3 ‐1.2 415 389 425 440 4,147 4,178 ‐0.7

  Paper products...................................... 16,170 16,263 16,294 ‐0.6 ‐0.2 1.0 17,038 16,232 17,105 16,543 161,944 153,500 5.5

      Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills....... 6,622 6,690 6,680 ‐1.0 0.1 0.0 6,844 6,735 7,001 6,693 66,230 64,217 3.1

      Paperboard containers........................ 5,604 5,628 5,655 ‐0.4 ‐0.5 3.0 6,022 5,597 6,032 5,795 56,304 53,834 4.6

  Printing................................................. 6,644 6,511 6,581 2.0 ‐1.1 ‐1.6 7,269 6,540 6,883 6,906 65,715 64,894 1.3

  Petroleum and coal products.................. 59,085 58,179 56,544 1.6 2.9 0.8 60,147 58,599 60,228 48,945 557,181 437,332 27.4

      Petroleum refineries.......................... 54,987 54,028 52,393 1.8 3.1 0.7 55,472 54,035 55,124 44,692 515,679 399,251 29.2

  Chemical products..................................... 66,015 66,040 65,784 0.0 0.4 1.0 66,858 65,086 67,623 62,252 655,235 620,904 5.5

      Pesticides, fertilizers, and other

          agricultural chemicals....................... 2,890 2,955 2,936 ‐2.2 0.6 6.7 2,281 2,610 2,585 1,790 27,391 23,973 14.3

      Pharmaceuticals and medicines............. 21,725 21,745 21,492 ‐0.1 1.2 0.9 22,600 21,737 22,106 20,504 211,844 194,144 9.1

      Paints, coatings, and adhesives.......... 3,812 3,809 3,813 0.1 ‐0.1 1.4 3,915 3,666 4,187 3,675 39,124 36,480 7.2

  Plastics and rubber products.................. 19,734 19,911 19,873 ‐0.9 0.2 0.1 20,728 19,664 20,978 20,110 200,683 196,279 2.2

Year to date

p Preliminary

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 Estimates and percent changes of shipments for the semiconductor industry are included in computers and electronic products, and all other applicable aggregate totals.  

Note:  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/>.        

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.  Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 2.  Value of Manufacturers' New Orders for Industry Groups1

[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

Industry % Change

Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. ‐ Aug. ‐ July ‐ Oct. Sep. Aug. Oct. 2018/

2018p 2018r 2018 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2018p 2018r 2018 2017 2018p 2017 2017

All manufacturing industries2........................ 502,677 513,217 511,974 ‐2.1 0.2 2.6 516,420 520,015 526,774 479,220 5,009,744 4,625,963 8.3

      Excluding transportation2...................... 417,835 416,780 416,394 0.3 0.1 0.4 429,455 419,550 430,267 400,733 4,137,869 3,841,681 7.7

      Excluding defense2.............................. 489,180 491,172 493,003 ‐0.4 ‐0.4 1.5 504,199 494,628 511,292 468,776 4,863,387 4,508,272 7.9

      With unfilled orders2

............................. 175,001 186,721 187,262 ‐6.3 ‐0.3 7.2 175,680 192,018 186,759 164,290 1,783,016 1,628,329 9.5

  Durable goods industries2......................... 248,962 260,178 260,223 ‐4.3 0.0 4.7 254,740 266,421 265,156 236,406 2,508,948 2,306,947 8.8

  Primary metals........................................ 21,429 21,909 22,195 ‐2.2 ‐1.3 1.5 21,925 20,757 22,589 19,347 217,906 187,338 16.3

      Iron and steel mills.............................. 10,797 11,152 11,251 ‐3.2 ‐0.9 1.2 10,875 10,300 11,319 9,494 109,432 91,988 19.0

      Aluminum and nonferrous metals.......... 9,254 9,344 9,472 ‐1.0 ‐1.4 1.6 9,651 9,076 9,699 8,484 94,250 81,569 15.5

      Ferrous metal foundries....................... 1,378 1,413 1,472 ‐2.5 ‐4.0 2.7 1,399 1,381 1,571 1,369 14,224 13,781 3.2

  Fabricated metal products........................ 33,394 32,851 33,546 1.7 ‐2.1 0.5 34,442 32,476 35,278 31,860 336,918 307,689 9.5

  Machinery............................................. 33,193 33,339 33,277 ‐0.4 0.2 0.2 33,612 32,616 33,539 32,593 331,265 314,204 5.4

      Construction machinery........................ 2,882 3,191 3,226 ‐9.7 ‐1.1 6.3 3,070 3,121 3,180 3,239 29,973 28,249 6.1

      Mining, oil field, and

          gas field machinery.......................... 1,450 1,539 1,548 ‐5.8 ‐0.6 0.2 1,565 1,672 1,571 1,660 15,009 14,912 0.7

      Industrial machinery............................ 2,752 2,847 2,919 ‐3.3 ‐2.5 14.3 2,767 3,022 2,854 2,902 26,533 26,451 0.3

      Photographic equipment....................... 587 542 436 8.3 24.3 ‐30.1 659 599 445 576 5,144 5,130 0.3

      Ventilation, heating, air‐conditioning,

          and refrigeration equipment............... 4,120 3,975 3,895 3.6 2.1 ‐4.2 3,823 3,878 4,230 3,419 40,192 37,663 6.7

      Metalworking machinery....................... 2,632 2,533 2,578 3.9 ‐1.7 1.3 2,766 2,468 2,590 2,601 26,872 25,525 5.3

      Turbines, generators, and other        

          power transmission equipment........... 4,423 4,476 4,325 ‐1.2 3.5 4.6 4,429 4,229 4,451 4,061 41,770 38,822 7.6

      Material handling equipment.................. 2,818 2,767 2,911 1.8 ‐4.9 ‐3.6 2,701 2,675 2,989 2,584 28,337 26,170 8.3

  Computers and electronic products2........... 23,836 23,449 23,302 1.7 0.6 ‐0.7 22,817 26,946 22,199 21,413 227,407 211,852 7.3

      Computers........................................ 856 878 870 ‐2.5 0.9 1.8 812 1,044 908 787 8,107 8,559 ‐5.3

      Nondefense communications

          equipment...................................... 3,445 3,414 3,314 0.9 3.0 ‐0.5 3,055 4,182 2,888 3,103 32,332 30,304 6.7

      Defense communications equipment....... 327 297 315 10.1 ‐5.7 4.3 305 330 329 293 2,862 2,594 10.3

      Electronic components......................... 3,496 3,496 3,351 0.0 4.3 ‐2.3 3,506 3,550 3,569 3,616 35,618 34,871 2.1

      Nondefense search and navigation

          equipment...................................... 1,604 1,534 1,557 4.6 ‐1.5 ‐2.9 1,711 1,740 1,571 1,497 15,965 14,963 6.7

      Defense search and navigation

          equipment...................................... 2,852 2,773 2,853 2.8 ‐2.8 2.0 2,653 3,283 2,625 2,458 26,837 24,806 8.2

      Electromedical, measuring,

          and control instruments..................... 9,555 9,440 9,426 1.2 0.1 ‐0.8 9,013 10,960 8,771 8,125 90,754 80,128 13.3

  Electrical equipment, appliances,        

    and components................................... 11,645 11,455 11,536 1.7 ‐0.7 0.6 12,064 11,670 12,107 11,250 113,862 107,418 6.0

      Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,030 1,036 1,054 ‐0.6 ‐1.7 0.6 1,093 1,038 1,087 1,138 10,572 10,878 ‐2.8

      Household appliances.......................... 1,805 1,793 1,712 0.7 4.7 0.9 1,979 1,876 1,809 1,808 17,406 17,671 ‐1.5

      Electrical equipment............................ 3,111 3,148 3,123 ‐1.2 0.8 ‐1.1 3,091 3,145 3,248 3,054 30,973 29,751 4.1

  Transportation equipment........................ 84,842 96,437 95,580 ‐12.0 0.9 13.3 86,965 100,465 96,507 78,487 871,875 784,282 11.2

      Motor vehicle bodies, parts,       

          and trailers..................................... 27,600 27,624 27,639 ‐0.1 ‐0.1 1.3 28,813 27,174 30,429 26,184 272,874 259,783 5.0

      Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 10,416 13,391 16,547 ‐22.2 ‐19.1 63.7 9,006 14,484 14,248 10,690 132,745 116,756 13.7

      Defense aircraft and parts.................... 4,710 11,584 5,337 ‐59.3 117.1 20.4 4,239 12,259 3,910 3,222 50,565 42,064 20.2

      Ships and boats.................................. 1,643 2,709 3,792 ‐39.4 ‐28.6 28.8 2,062 3,735 2,497 2,356 29,958 27,983 7.1

  Furniture and related products................... 6,516 6,672 6,617 ‐2.3 0.8 1.7 6,643 6,741 6,709 6,468 66,243 64,202 3.2

  Nondurable goods industries..................... 253,715 253,039 251,751 0.3 0.5 0.6 261,680 253,594 261,618 242,814 2,500,796 2,319,016 7.8

Year to date

p Preliminary

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 Data on new orders are not available for the semiconductor industry.  Estimates and percent changes for new orders exclude semiconductor industry data.      

Note:  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/>.       

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.  Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 3.  Value of Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders for Industry Groups1

[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 % Change

Industry October

Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. ‐ Aug. ‐ July ‐ Oct. Sep. Aug. Oct. 2018/

2018p 2018r 2018 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2018p 2018r 2018 2017 2017

All manufacturing industries2...................... 1,183,576 1,185,282 1,176,807 ‐0.1 0.7 0.9 1,173,008 1,178,161 1,170,981 1,119,195 4.8

      Excluding transportation2

...................... 368,336 367,249 366,039 0.3 0.3 0.5 364,492 364,452 364,826 347,388 4.9

      Excluding defense2............................. 988,320 989,419 989,172 ‐0.1 0.0 0.6 978,795 982,312 985,456 939,408 4.2

  Durable goods industries2........................ 1,183,576 1,185,282 1,176,807 ‐0.1 0.7 0.9 1,173,008 1,178,161 1,170,981 1,119,195 4.8

  Primary metals........................................ 31,486 31,656 31,497 ‐0.5 0.5 1.4 30,247 30,487 31,027 26,501 14.1

      Iron and steel mills............................... 16,760 17,052 16,999 ‐1.7 0.3 1.4 15,771 16,336 16,811 13,368 18.0

      Aluminum and nonferrous metals............. 11,275 11,158 11,129 1.0 0.3 0.9 11,114 10,789 10,864 10,043 10.7

      Ferrous metal foundries........................ 3,451 3,446 3,369 0.1 2.3 2.8 3,362 3,362 3,352 3,090 8.8

  Fabricated metal products......................... 84,982 84,687 84,749 0.3 ‐0.1 0.7 84,041 84,557 85,237 77,462 8.5

  Machinery.............................................. 106,099 105,705 105,064 0.4 0.6 0.4 105,501 104,920 104,994 103,494 1.9

      Construction machinery......................... 6,568 6,606 6,384 ‐0.6 3.5 3.3 6,281 6,330 6,070 6,289 ‐0.1

      Mining, oil field, and

          gas field machinery.......................... 4,376 4,390 4,347 ‐0.3 1.0 0.2 4,444 4,392 4,288 4,663 ‐4.7

      Industrial machinery............................. 8,671 8,610 8,526 0.7 1.0 1.4 8,649 8,526 8,573 9,025 ‐4.2

      Photographic equipment........................ 1,505 1,512 1,555 ‐0.5 ‐2.8 ‐5.4 1,529 1,461 1,485 1,672 ‐8.6

      Ventilation, heating, air‐conditioning,

          and refrigeration equipment................ 7,315 7,088 6,976 3.2 1.6 0.2 7,190 6,993 6,966 5,976 20.3

      Metalworking machinery........................ 7,862 7,812 7,775 0.6 0.5 ‐0.6 7,711 7,720 7,847 7,694 0.2

      Turbines, generators, and other        

          power transmission equipment............ 29,369 29,421 29,437 ‐0.2 ‐0.1 ‐0.2 29,298 29,447 29,582 29,770 ‐1.6

      Material handling equipment................... 13,029 12,917 12,851 0.9 0.5 1.4 12,768 12,920 12,881 11,240 13.6

  Computers and electronic products2............. 116,388 115,925 115,460 0.4 0.4 0.1 115,820 115,704 114,585 111,926 3.5

      Computers......................................... 2,132 2,103 2,055 1.4 2.3 1.1 2,132 2,103 2,055 1,824 16.9

      Nondefense communications

          equipment...................................... 25,070 24,895 24,760 0.7 0.5 0.4 24,842 24,754 24,577 23,363 6.3

      Defense communications equipment........ 1,431 1,437 1,447 ‐0.4 ‐0.7 0.8 1,434 1,466 1,476 1,468 ‐2.3

      Electronic components.......................... 12,710 12,658 12,558 0.4 0.8 ‐0.4 12,610 12,565 12,557 11,673 8.0

      Nondefense search and navigation

          equipment....................................... 19,712 19,671 19,654 0.2 0.1 0.1 19,896 19,718 19,660 19,150 3.9

      Defense search and navigation

          equipment....................................... 27,157 27,095 27,056 0.2 0.1 0.3 26,991 27,106 26,805 27,405 ‐1.5

      Electromedical, measuring,

          and control instruments...................... 28,176 28,066 27,930 0.4 0.5 ‐0.1 27,915 27,992 27,455 27,043 3.2

  Electrical equipment, appliances,        

    and components.................................... 19,909 19,787 19,927 0.6 ‐0.7 0.4 19,467 19,386 19,817 18,985 2.5

      Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,400 1,411 1,415 ‐0.8 ‐0.3 0.3 1,394 1,411 1,421 1,398 ‐0.3

      Household appliances........................... 1,442 1,413 1,379 2.1 2.5 ‐2.0 1,422 1,373 1,352 1,199 18.6

      Electrical equipment............................. 7,717 7,696 7,737 0.3 ‐0.5 ‐0.5 7,641 7,505 7,746 7,809 ‐2.2

  Transportation equipment......................... 815,240 818,033 810,768 ‐0.3 0.9 1.1 808,516 813,709 806,155 771,807 4.8

      Motor vehicle bodies, parts,       

          and trailers...................................... 26,903 26,900 26,869 0.0 0.1 0.6 25,739 26,820 26,651 25,011 2.9

      Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 601,700 603,978 605,381 ‐0.4 ‐0.2 0.6 597,125 599,939 602,950 577,698 3.4

      Defense aircraft and parts..................... 79,485 79,534 72,717 ‐0.1 9.4 0.9 78,756 79,130 72,251 71,285 10.5

      Ships and boats.................................. 29,076 30,150 30,193 ‐3.6 ‐0.1 3.6 29,302 30,043 29,093 30,471 ‐3.8

  Furniture and related products................... 8,933 8,948 8,720 ‐0.2 2.6 1.5 8,877 8,857 8,544 8,399 5.7

p Preliminary

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 Data on unfilled orders are not available for the semiconductor industry.  Estimates and percent changes for unfilled orders exclude semiconductor industry data.      

Note:  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/>.    

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.  Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 4.  Value of Manufacturers' Inventories for Industry Groups1

[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 % Change

Industry October

Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. ‐ Aug. ‐ July ‐ Oct. Sep. Aug. Oct. 2018/

2018p 2018r 2018 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2018p 2018r 2018 2017 2017

  All manufacturing industries...................... 681,689 680,834 676,738 0.1 0.6 0.1 685,260 681,230 680,217 654,124 4.8

      Excluding transportation........................ 550,593 550,277 547,388 0.1 0.5 0.4 553,449 550,972 550,501 526,449 5.1

      Excluding defense............................. 654,586 653,781 649,781 0.1 0.6 0.1 658,201 654,324 653,285 626,983 5.0

      With unfilled orders............................. 334,956 334,642 331,682 0.1 0.9 ‐0.2 335,741 334,437 334,438 320,610 4.7

  Durable goods industries........................ 411,342 411,069 407,936 0.1 0.8 ‐0.2 411,894 410,520 410,921 393,888 4.6

  Wood products........................................ 12,345 12,309 12,242 0.3 0.5 0.0 12,206 12,115 12,113 11,694 4.4

  Nonmetallic mineral products..................... 14,800 14,703 14,543 0.7 1.1 0.3 14,410 14,552 14,432 13,454 7.1

  Primary metals......................................... 35,616 35,536 35,669 0.2 ‐0.4 0.3 35,608 35,887 36,048 32,902 8.2

      Iron and steel mills............................... 20,152 20,113 20,135 0.2 ‐0.1 0.4 20,259 20,489 20,379 18,601 8.9

      Aluminum and nonferrous metals............ 13,377 13,357 13,505 0.1 ‐1.1 0.1 13,279 13,389 13,646 12,391 7.2

      Ferrous metal foundries........................ 2,087 2,066 2,029 1.0 1.8 1.0 2,070 2,009 2,023 1,910 8.4

  Fabricated metal products......................... 54,195 54,212 53,777 0.0 0.8 0.7 53,973 54,277 53,959 49,675 8.7

  Machinery.............................................. 69,593 69,653 69,054 ‐0.1 0.9 0.9 69,693 69,777 69,819 66,654 4.6

      Farm machinery.................................. 3,835 3,838 3,801 ‐0.1 1.0 3.1 3,495 3,591 3,576 3,432 1.8

      Construction machinery......................... 5,553 5,517 5,435 0.7 1.5 ‐1.1 5,599 5,553 5,414 5,325 5.1

      Mining, oil field,   

          and gas field machinery.................... 5,494 5,439 5,393 1.0 0.9 ‐0.2 5,440 5,397 5,449 5,527 ‐1.6

      Industrial machinery............................. 8,492 8,794 8,711 ‐3.4 1.0 3.1 8,401 9,007 8,809 7,900 6.3

      Photographic equipment....................... 1,699 1,689 1,704 0.6 ‐0.9 0.7 1,717 1,699 1,773 1,656 3.7

      Ventilation, heating, air‐conditioning,

          and refrigeration equipment............... 5,055 5,054 5,021 0.0 0.7 1.1 5,015 4,940 5,048 4,861 3.2

      Metalworking machinery........................ 5,943 5,923 5,986 0.3 ‐1.1 0.5 6,018 6,023 6,095 5,800 3.8

      Turbines, generators, and other

          power transmission equipment............ 9,586 9,584 9,468 0.0 1.2 ‐0.3 9,805 9,611 9,770 9,608 2.1

      Material handling equipment.................. 5,897 5,823 5,727 1.3 1.7 1.9 6,130 5,983 5,911 5,579 9.9

  Computers and electronic products2

............ 43,085 43,505 43,068 ‐1.0 1.0 ‐0.2 43,330 43,139 43,761 42,974 0.8

      Computers......................................... 1,448 1,502 1,500 ‐3.6 0.1 0.8 1,440 1,540 1,551 1,563 ‐7.9

      Computer storage devices.................... 1,015 1,008 1,009 0.7 ‐0.1 ‐1.8 1,062 986 1,044 1,099 ‐3.4

      Other peripheral equipment................... 1,180 1,232 1,175 ‐4.2 4.9 2.1 1,180 1,185 1,225 1,124 5.0

      Nondefense communications

          equipment...................................... 4,783 4,732 4,687 1.1 1.0 ‐0.5 4,829 4,641 4,818 4,685 3.1

      Defense communications equipment........ 649 646 661 0.5 ‐2.3 ‐2.4 649 646 661 632 2.7

      Audio and video equipment.................... 557 561 563 ‐0.7 ‐0.4 0.7 628 616 594 672 ‐6.5

      Electronic components.......................... 7,241 7,404 7,240 ‐2.2 2.3 ‐0.4 7,193 7,325 7,213 7,287 ‐1.3

      Nondefense search and navigation

          equipment...................................... 2,568 2,580 2,548 ‐0.5 1.3 ‐0.9 2,615 2,592 2,597 2,623 ‐0.3

      Defense search and navigation

          equipment....................................... 2,622 2,623 2,632 0.0 ‐0.3 0.5 2,590 2,536 2,646 2,581 0.3

      Electromedical, measuring        

          and control instruments...................... 15,346 15,439 15,316 ‐0.6 0.8 0.5 15,481 15,283 15,649 15,009 3.1

  Electrical equipment, appliances,        

    and components.................................... 19,227 19,158 18,879 0.4 1.5 0.2 19,179 18,937 19,257 17,703 8.3

      Electric lighting equipment..................... 2,232 2,235 2,241 ‐0.1 ‐0.3 0.5 2,224 2,238 2,260 2,151 3.4

      Household appliances........................... 2,768 2,792 2,802 ‐0.9 ‐0.4 ‐0.7 2,786 2,788 2,907 2,762 0.9

      Electrical equipment............................. 5,333 5,319 5,193 0.3 2.4 0.1 5,313 5,042 5,307 4,860 9.3

      Batteries............................................ 1,772 1,809 1,834 ‐2.0 ‐1.4 ‐0.4 1,788 1,902 1,926 1,818 ‐1.7

  Transportation equipment......................... 131,096 130,557 129,350 0.4 0.9 ‐1.4 131,811 130,258 129,716 127,675 3.2

      Automobiles....................................... 4,043 4,078 4,139 ‐0.9 ‐1.5 1.1 4,139 4,184 4,140 3,887 6.5

      Light trucks and utility vehicles.............. 4,524 4,512 4,717 0.3 ‐4.3 2.0 4,799 4,630 4,884 4,417 8.6

      Heavy duty trucks ............................... 2,237 2,201 2,213 1.6 ‐0.5 ‐1.6 2,180 2,120 2,271 1,857 17.4

      Motor vehicle bodies, parts,       

          and trailers...................................... 25,778 25,679 25,496 0.4 0.7 ‐0.1 25,808 25,652 25,684 24,967 3.4

      Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 66,805 66,534 65,342 0.4 1.8 ‐2.3 67,074 66,119 65,063 64,702 3.7

      Defense aircraft and parts..................... 13,206 13,144 12,877 0.5 2.1 ‐0.3 13,211 13,123 12,924 13,154 0.4

      Ships and boats.................................. 2,909 2,957 3,049 ‐1.6 ‐3.0 1.8 2,922 3,001 3,004 3,006 ‐2.8

  Furniture and related products.................... 7,860 7,944 7,924 ‐1.1 0.3 0.4 7,793 7,914 8,056 7,690 1.3

  Miscellaneous durable goods..................... 23,525 23,492 23,430 0.1 0.3 0.2 23,891 23,664 23,760 23,467 1.8

  Nondurable goods industries...................... 270,347 269,765 268,802 0.2 0.4 0.5 273,366 270,710 269,296 260,236 5.0

  Food products........................................ 53,551 54,061 53,988 ‐0.9 0.1 ‐0.2 56,682 54,913 54,491 57,507 ‐1.4

      Grain and oilseed milling........................ 5,152 5,278 5,378 ‐2.4 ‐1.9 0.0 5,470 5,127 5,199 5,736 ‐4.6

      Dairy products.................................... 7,585 7,630 7,491 ‐0.6 1.9 ‐0.7 7,520 7,667 7,636 7,623 ‐1.4

      Meat, poultry, and seafood products....... 9,254 9,315 9,247 ‐0.7 0.7 ‐0.5 9,390 9,396 9,427 9,221 1.8

  Beverage and tobacco products................ 24,559 24,472 24,480 0.4 0.0 0.0 25,102 24,391 23,709 24,580 2.1

      Beverages......................................... 20,031 19,942 19,928 0.4 0.1 0.3 20,451 19,998 19,477 19,706 3.8

      Tobacco............................................ 4,528 4,530 4,552 0.0 ‐0.5 ‐1.1 4,651 4,393 4,232 4,874 ‐4.6

  Textile mills............................................ 3,344 3,264 3,254 2.5 0.3 0.4 3,337 3,261 3,268 3,135 6.4

  Textile products...................................... 3,496 3,520 3,500 ‐0.7 0.6 0.8 3,493 3,535 3,509 3,366 3.8

  Apparel................................................. 1,970 1,962 1,945 0.4 0.9 1.4 2,022 2,034 2,045 1,915 5.6

  Leather and allied products....................... 804 798 785 0.8 1.7 0.6 800 803 805 750 6.7

  Paper products....................................... 15,994 16,018 16,076 ‐0.1 ‐0.4 ‐0.1 15,832 16,101 16,124 15,550 1.8

      Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills........... 6,529 6,453 6,506 1.2 ‐0.8 ‐0.1 6,399 6,416 6,490 6,377 0.3

      Paperboard containers......................... 5,007 5,101 5,121 ‐1.8 ‐0.4 0.1 4,995 5,159 5,115 4,877 2.4

  Printing.................................................. 5,461 5,485 5,442 ‐0.4 0.8 0.3 5,632 5,577 5,533 5,580 0.9

  Petroleum and coal products..................... 43,456 43,281 42,824 0.4 1.1 1.3 43,831 44,371 42,869 36,862 18.9

      Petroleum refineries............................. 37,533 37,361 37,022 0.5 0.9 1.1 38,068 38,503 37,008 32,175 18.3

  Chemical products..................................... 90,542 89,920 89,734 0.7 0.2 0.6 89,707 88,867 90,249 85,715 4.7

      Pesticides, fertilizers, and other

          agricultural chemicals........................ 4,401 4,413 4,567 ‐0.3 ‐3.4 ‐1.0 4,173 4,095 4,353 4,442 ‐6.1

      Pharmaceuticals and medicines.............. 37,027 36,588 36,540 1.2 0.1 0.3 36,893 36,070 36,748 34,837 5.9

      Paints, coatings, and adhesives.............. 3,994 3,973 3,914 0.5 1.5 0.7 3,881 3,890 3,859 3,691 5.1

  Plastics and rubber products..................... 27,170 26,984 26,774 0.7 0.8 0.6 26,928 26,857 26,694 25,276 6.5

p Preliminary

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 Estimates of inventories for the semiconductor industry data are included in computers and electronic products, and all other applicable aggregate totals.        

Note:  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/>.     

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.  Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 5.  Value of Manufacturers' Shipments, New Orders, Unfilled Orders, and Total Inventories for

               Topical Series1, 2

[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

Industry % Change6

Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. ‐ Aug. ‐ July ‐ Oct. Sep. Aug. Oct. 2018/

2018p 2018r 2018 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2018p 2018r 2018 2017 2018p 2017 2017

SHIPMENTS

  All manufacturing industries......................... 508,363 508,879 505,207 ‐0.1 0.7 0.7 526,512 516,992 529,157 486,150 5,013,074 4,660,721 7.6

    Construction materials and supplies....... 51,680 51,531 51,724 0.3 ‐0.4 0.1 55,357 52,114 57,208 51,950 521,087 490,714 6.2

    Information technology......................... 25,211 24,852 24,867 1.4 ‐0.1 ‐0.1 24,692 27,776 24,644 22,438 239,994 220,239 9.0

    Computers and related products........... 1,921 1,892 1,939 1.5 ‐2.4 ‐1.6 1,784 2,265 1,876 1,735 17,842 19,548 ‐8.7

    Motor vehicle and parts......................... 60,837 60,547 59,903 0.5 1.1 ‐0.6 66,197 60,369 65,870 58,104 591,467 547,687 8.0

    Capital goods......................................      89,360 90,992 89,033 ‐1.8 2.2 2.8 88,789 97,752 89,774 83,018 876,678 816,339 7.4

      Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 77,242 79,206 77,376 ‐2.5 2.4 3.0 76,861 84,982 78,154 72,402 763,767 715,860 6.7

        Excluding aircraft............................. 68,684 68,491 68,724 0.3 ‐0.3 ‐0.1 69,022 71,717 69,228 65,701 676,237 632,802 6.9

      Defense capital goods4

........................ 12,118 11,786 11,657 2.8 1.1 1.5 11,928 12,770 11,620 10,616 112,911 100,479 12.4

    Consumer goods.................................. 216,957 215,802 213,842 0.5 0.9 0.1 225,690 217,652 223,310 205,302 2,113,471 1,928,598 9.6

      Consumer durable goods..................... 44,318 43,884 43,315 1.0 1.3 ‐1.3 47,648 44,522 46,899 42,018 426,893 396,564 7.6

      Consumer nondurable goods................ 172,639 171,918 170,527 0.4 0.8 0.5 178,042 173,130 176,411 163,284 1,686,578 1,532,034 10.1

  All manufacturing industries5

...................... 502,677 513,217 511,974 ‐2.1 0.2 2.6 516,420 520,015 526,774 479,220 5,009,744 4,625,963 8.3

    Construction materials and supplies....... 52,107 51,487 52,005 1.2 ‐1.0 0.2 55,234 51,577 56,743 51,752 526,638 495,158 6.4

    Information technology......................... 25,698 25,045 25,108 2.6 ‐0.3 ‐0.6 24,744 28,662 24,042 22,493 242,597 222,166 9.2

    Computers and related products........... 1,950 1,940 1,961 0.5 ‐1.1 ‐1.3 1,813 2,313 1,898 1,764 18,096 19,793 ‐8.6

    Motor vehicle and parts......................... 60,840 60,578 60,074 0.4 0.8 ‐0.5 65,116 60,538 66,431 57,354 590,699 548,216 7.7

    Capital goods......................................      86,817 92,339 97,603 ‐6.0 ‐5.4 12.7 84,484 99,157 91,760 81,284 890,503 816,930 9.0

      Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 75,259 78,513 81,095 ‐4.1 ‐3.2 7.4 74,511 81,808 78,289 72,768 771,219 719,290 7.2

        Excluding aircraft............................. 69,331 69,346 69,747 0.0 ‐0.6 ‐0.2 69,576 72,022 68,898 66,453 683,570 642,639 6.4

      Defense capital goods4

........................ 11,558 13,826 16,508 ‐16.4 ‐16.2 48.8 9,973 17,349 13,471 8,516 119,284 97,640 22.2

    Consumer goods.................................. 216,910 215,759 213,682 0.5 1.0 0.0 225,668 217,725 223,080 205,310 2,113,576 1,928,963 9.6

      Consumer durable goods..................... 44,271 43,841 43,155 1.0 1.6 ‐1.8 47,626 44,595 46,669 42,026 426,998 396,929 7.6

      Consumer nondurable goods.............. 172,639 171,918 170,527 0.4 0.8 0.5 178,042 173,130 176,411 163,284 1,686,578 1,532,034 10.1

  All manufacturing industries5

...................... 1,183,576 1,185,282 1,176,807 ‐0.1 0.7 0.9 1,173,008 1,178,161 1,170,981 1,119,195 (X) (X) 4.8

    Construction materials and supplies....... 58,783 58,356 58,400 0.7 ‐0.1 0.5 58,122 58,245 58,782 52,570 (X) (X) 10.6

    Information technology......................... 114,533 114,046 113,853 0.4 0.2 0.2 113,749 113,697 112,811 110,504 (X) (X) 2.9

    Computers and related products........... 2,132 2,103 2,055 1.4 2.3 1.1 2,132 2,103 2,055 1,824 (X) (X) 16.9

    Motor vehicle and parts......................... 26,903 26,900 26,869 0.0 0.1 0.6 25,739 26,820 26,651 25,011 (X) (X) 2.9

    Capital goods......................................      869,217 871,760 870,413 ‐0.3 0.2 1.0 862,918 867,223 865,818 839,305 (X) (X) 2.8

      Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 715,719 717,702 718,395 ‐0.3 ‐0.1 0.5 710,264 712,614 715,788 693,702 (X) (X) 2.4

        Excluding aircraft............................. 223,256 222,609 221,754 0.3 0.4 0.5 221,823 221,269 220,964 217,421 (X) (X) 2.0

      Defense capital goods4........................ 153,498 154,058 152,018 ‐0.4 1.3 3.3 152,654 154,609 150,030 145,603 (X) (X) 4.8

    Consumer goods.................................. 4,991 5,038 5,081 ‐0.9 ‐0.8 ‐3.1 4,916 4,938 4,865 4,931 (X) (X) ‐0.3

      Consumer durable goods..................... 4,991 5,038 5,081 ‐0.9 ‐0.8 ‐3.1 4,916 4,938 4,865 4,931 (X) (X) ‐0.3

  All manufacturing industries....................... 681,689 680,834 676,738 0.1 0.6 0.1 685,260 681,230 680,217 654,124 (X) (X) 4.8

    Construction materials and supplies....... 73,428 73,325 72,682 0.1 0.9 0.5 72,549 73,037 72,613 67,098 (X) (X) 8.1

    Information technology......................... 39,232 39,262 38,850 ‐0.1 1.1 0.3 39,506 38,939 39,665 38,020 (X) (X) 3.9

    Computers and related products........... 3,643 3,742 3,684 ‐2.6 1.6 0.5 3,682 3,711 3,820 3,786 (X) (X) ‐2.7

    Motor vehicle and parts......................... 36,582 36,470 36,565 0.3 ‐0.3 0.2 36,926 36,586 36,979 35,128 (X) (X) 5.1

    Capital goods......................................      203,228 202,860 200,472 0.2 1.2 ‐0.6 203,838 202,055 202,212 195,810 (X) (X) 4.1

      Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 180,446 180,141 177,868 0.2 1.3 ‐0.5 181,105 179,462 179,680 173,135 (X) (X) 4.6

        Excluding aircraft............................. 125,726 125,754 124,534 0.0 1.0 0.5 126,273 125,491 126,524 120,812 (X) (X) 4.5

      Defense capital goods4

........................ 22,782 22,719 22,604 0.3 0.5 ‐0.9 22,733 22,593 22,532 22,675 (X) (X) 0.3

    Consumer goods.................................. 203,211 203,046 202,787 0.1 0.1 0.3 207,805 204,942 203,540 198,184 (X) (X) 4.9

      Consumer durable goods..................... 30,101 30,186 30,445 ‐0.3 ‐0.9 0.5 30,678 30,502 31,017 29,762 (X) (X) 3.1

      Consumer nondurable goods................ 173,110 172,860 172,342 0.1 0.3 0.3 177,127 174,440 172,523 168,422 (X) (X) 5.2

NEW ORDERS

UNFILLED ORDERS

TOTAL INVENTORIES

X

  Not Applicable p Preliminary

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

Topical series are regroupings of the separate industry categories.     3 Nondefense capital goods industries include: 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.         4 Defense capital goods industries include:  small arms and ordnance; communications equipment; aircraft; missiles, space vehicles, and parts; ships and boats; and search and navigation equipment. 5

Estimates and percent changes exclude semiconductor industry data.      6 Based on year‐to‐date for shipments and new orders, but on same month prior year for unfilled orders and inventories.           

Note:  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/>.      

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.  Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 6.  Value of Manufacturers' Inventories, by Stage of Fabrication, by Industry Group1  

[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 % Change

Industry October

Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. ‐ Aug. ‐ July ‐ Oct. Sep. Aug. Oct. 2018/

2018p 2018r 2018 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2018p 2018r 2018 2017 2017

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

  All manufacturing industries....................... 236,748 235,943 234,542 0.3 0.6 0.9 237,817 236,467 235,357 221,807 7.2

    Durable goods industries.......................... 143,913 143,254 141,880 0.5 1.0 0.9 144,318 144,142 143,224 133,012 8.5

      Wood products................................... 5,127 5,102 5,089 0.5 0.3 0.4 5,183 5,135 5,132 4,943 4.9

      Nonmetallic mineral products................. 5,943 5,945 5,939 0.0 0.1 ‐0.1 5,906 5,947 5,939 5,486 7.7

      Primary metals.................................... 12,968 12,936 12,952 0.2 ‐0.1 1.0 13,233 13,199 13,162 12,138 9.0

      Fabricated metal products..........................       20,684 20,670 20,458 0.1 1.0 0.6 20,657 20,926 20,634 18,509 11.6

      Machinery.......................................... 28,241 27,976 27,512 0.9 1.7 2.5 28,344 28,209 27,860 25,126 12.8

      Computers and electronic products........ 19,024 18,950 18,856 0.4 0.5 1.0 19,129 18,822 18,938 17,736 7.9

      Electrical equipment, appliances,

         and components............................... 8,281 8,179 8,005 1.2 2.2 0.9 8,264 8,049 8,108 7,189 15.0

      Transportation equipment..................... 31,961 31,696 31,206 0.8 1.6 0.0 31,911 32,034 31,409 30,422 4.9

      Furniture and related products............... 3,810 3,890 3,894 ‐2.1 ‐0.1 ‐0.1 3,785 3,876 3,930 3,758 0.7

      Miscellaneous products......................... 7,874 7,910 7,969 ‐0.5 ‐0.7 1.7 7,906 7,945 8,112 7,705 2.6

   Nondurable goods industries...................... 92,835 92,689 92,662 0.2 0.0 0.9 93,499 92,325 92,133 88,795 5.3

      Food  products.................................... 17,592 17,935 17,835 ‐1.9 0.6 ‐0.4 18,430 17,804 17,612 19,050 ‐3.3

      Beverage and tobacco products........................ 5,954 5,949 5,842 0.1 1.8 1.0 6,051 5,854 5,586 5,979 1.2

      Textiles.............................................. 1,163 1,145 1,155 1.6 ‐0.9 0.2 1,152 1,142 1,168 1,065 8.2

      Textile products................................... 1,307 1,315 1,317 ‐0.6 ‐0.2 ‐0.2 1,300 1,327 1,321 1,279 1.6

      Apparel............................................. 507 510 511 ‐0.6 ‐0.2 2.8 516 516 517 486 6.2

      Leather and allied products.................... 271 271 267 0.0 1.5 0.8 273 274 272 243 12.3

      Paper products.................................... 8,136 8,199 8,218 ‐0.8 ‐0.2 0.1 8,080 8,245 8,227 7,794 3.7

      Printing ............................................. 2,835 2,849 2,812 ‐0.5 1.3 0.7 2,864 2,878 2,837 2,733 4.8

      Petroleum and coal products................. 12,454 12,193 12,386 2.1 ‐1.6 1.3 12,632 12,281 12,106 10,763 17.4

      Chemical products................................ 31,076 30,891 31,003 0.6 ‐0.4 2.0 30,752 30,582 31,101 28,905 6.4

      Plastics and rubber products.................. 11,540 11,432 11,316 0.9 1.0 0.9 11,449 11,422 11,386 10,498 9.1

WORK IN PROCESS

  All manufacturing industries....................... 208,424 209,152 207,121 ‐0.3 1.0 ‐0.8 210,186 208,046 207,535 200,975 4.6

    Durable goods industries.......................... 152,052 152,178 151,306 ‐0.1 0.6 ‐1.3 152,272 151,292 152,118 147,219 3.4

      Wood products................................... 2,274 2,272 2,275 0.1 ‐0.1 ‐0.4 2,241 2,241 2,229 2,011 11.4

      Nonmetallic mineral products................. 1,579 1,546 1,553 2.1 ‐0.5 0.8 1,507 1,518 1,548 1,488 1.3

      Primary metals.................................... 10,458 10,568 10,640 ‐1.0 ‐0.7 ‐0.3 10,414 10,633 10,883 9,557 9.0

      Fabricated metal products..........................       13,859 13,933 13,827 ‐0.5 0.8 0.4 13,901 14,014 13,924 13,081 6.3

      Machinery.......................................... 18,602 18,701 18,845 ‐0.5 ‐0.8 ‐0.8 18,875 18,730 19,274 18,380 2.7

      Computers and electronic products........ 12,504 12,795 12,713 ‐2.3 0.6 ‐0.5 12,418 12,503 12,855 13,017 ‐4.6

      Electrical equipment, appliances,

         and components............................... 4,068 4,057 3,992 0.3 1.6 0.1 4,028 3,982 4,067 3,626 11.1

      Transportation equipment..................... 83,502 83,156 82,274 0.4 1.1 ‐2.2 83,636 82,476 82,082 81,183 3.0

      Furniture and related products............... 1,407 1,390 1,414 1.2 ‐1.7 2.0 1,398 1,385 1,427 1,291 8.3

      Miscellaneous products......................... 3,799 3,760 3,773 1.0 ‐0.3 0.5 3,854 3,810 3,829 3,585 7.5

   Nondurable goods industries...................... 56,372 56,974 55,815 ‐1.1 2.1 0.5 57,914 56,754 55,417 53,756 7.7

      Food  products.................................... 5,805 6,194 6,153 ‐6.3 0.7 ‐0.2 6,802 5,699 5,508 7,821 ‐13.0

      Beverage and tobacco products........................ 9,402 9,359 9,416 0.5 ‐0.6 ‐0.5 9,829 9,337 8,824 9,391 4.7

      Textiles.............................................. 730 715 707 2.1 1.1 0.0 734 724 709 700 4.9

      Textile products................................... 427 436 432 ‐2.1 0.9 5.1 432 443 434 422 2.4

      Apparel............................................. 343 342 341 0.3 0.3 1.5 344 354 364 304 13.2

      Leather and allied products.................... 84 82 81 2.4 1.2 2.5 82 82 84 72 13.9

      Paper products.................................... 1,305 1,294 1,303 0.9 ‐0.7 0.4 1,297 1,298 1,326 1,256 3.3

      Printing ............................................. 1,149 1,147 1,104 0.2 3.9 0.2 1,248 1,211 1,170 1,197 4.3

      Petroleum and coal products................. 13,679 14,185 13,676 ‐3.6 3.7 1.9 13,916 14,565 13,967 11,246 23.7

      Chemical products................................ 20,210 20,020 19,427 0.9 3.1 0.3 20,000 19,855 19,878 18,361 8.9

      Plastics and rubber products.................. 3,238 3,200 3,175 1.2 0.8 0.6 3,230 3,186 3,153 2,986 8.2

FINISHED GOODS

  All manufacturing industries....................... 236,517 235,739 235,075 0.3 0.3 0.0 237,257 236,717 237,325 231,342 2.6

    Durable goods industries.......................... 115,377 115,637 114,750 ‐0.2 0.8 0.0 115,304 115,086 115,579 113,657 1.4

      Wood products................................... 4,944 4,935 4,878 0.2 1.2 ‐0.3 4,782 4,739 4,752 4,740 0.9

      Nonmetallic mineral products................. 7,278 7,212 7,051 0.9 2.3 0.5 6,997 7,087 6,945 6,480 8.0

      Primary metals.................................... 12,190 12,032 12,077 1.3 ‐0.4 0.2 11,961 12,055 12,003 11,207 6.7

      Fabricated metal products..........................       19,652 19,609 19,492 0.2 0.6 1.0 19,415 19,337 19,401 18,085 7.4

      Machinery.......................................... 22,750 22,976 22,697 ‐1.0 1.2 0.6 22,474 22,838 22,685 23,148 ‐2.9

      Computers and electronic products........ 11,557 11,760 11,499 ‐1.7 2.3 ‐1.6 11,783 11,814 11,968 12,221 ‐3.6

      Electrical equipment, appliances,

         and components............................... 6,878 6,922 6,882 ‐0.6 0.6 ‐0.4 6,887 6,906 7,082 6,888 0.0

      Transportation equipment..................... 15,633 15,705 15,870 ‐0.5 ‐1.0 0.1 16,264 15,748 16,225 16,070 1.2

      Furniture and related products............... 2,643 2,664 2,616 ‐0.8 1.8 0.3 2,610 2,653 2,699 2,641 ‐1.2

      Miscellaneous products......................... 11,852 11,822 11,688 0.3 1.1 ‐0.9 12,131 11,909 11,819 12,177 ‐0.4

   Nondurable goods industries...................... 121,140 120,102 120,325 0.9 ‐0.2 0.0 121,953 121,631 121,746 117,685 3.6

      Food  products.................................... 30,154 29,932 30,000 0.7 ‐0.2 0.0 31,450 31,410 31,371 30,636 2.7

      Beverage and tobacco products........................ 9,203 9,164 9,222 0.4 ‐0.6 0.0 9,222 9,200 9,299 9,210 0.1

      Textiles.............................................. 1,451 1,404 1,392 3.3 0.9 0.7 1,451 1,395 1,391 1,370 5.9

      Textile products................................... 1,762 1,769 1,751 ‐0.4 1.0 0.5 1,761 1,765 1,754 1,665 5.8

      Apparel............................................. 1,120 1,110 1,093 0.9 1.6 0.6 1,162 1,164 1,164 1,125 3.3

      Leather and allied products.................... 449 445 437 0.9 1.8 0.2 445 447 449 435 2.3

      Paper products.................................... 6,553 6,525 6,555 0.4 ‐0.5 ‐0.4 6,455 6,558 6,571 6,500 ‐0.7

      Printing ............................................. 1,477 1,489 1,526 ‐0.8 ‐2.4 ‐0.5 1,520 1,488 1,526 1,650 ‐7.9

      Petroleum and coal products................. 17,323 16,903 16,762 2.5 0.8 0.9 17,283 17,525 16,796 14,853 16.4

      Chemical products................................ 39,256 39,009 39,304 0.6 ‐0.8 ‐0.3 38,955 38,430 39,270 38,449 1.3

      Plastics and rubber products.................. 12,392 12,352 12,283 0.3 0.6 0.4 12,249 12,249 12,155 11,792 3.9

p Preliminary  

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.     

Note:  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/>.      

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.  Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 7. Ratios of Manufacturers' Inventories to Shipments and Unfilled Orders

             to Shipments, by Industry Group 1

[Based on Seasonally Adjusted data from the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey.]  

Inventory/Shipments ratio Unfilled Orders/Shipments ratio2

Industry Oct Sep Aug Jul Oct Sep Aug Jul

2018p 2018r 2018 2018 2018p 2018r 2018 2018

All manufacturing industries3.................................... 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.35 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Durable goods industries3

........................................ 1.62 1.61 1.61 1.63 6.70 6.65 6.67 6.72

  Wood products........................................................... 1.33 1.31 1.29 1.29 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Nonmetallic mineral products............................. 1.35 1.35 1.32 1.32 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Primary metals............................................................ 1.65 1.63 1.64 1.64 1.46 1.46 1.45 1.44

  Fabricated metal products...................................... 1.64 1.65 1.63 1.62 2.64 2.65 2.65 2.63

  Machinery..................................................................... 2.12 2.13 2.10 2.07 3.59 3.59 3.53 3.53

  Computers and electronic products3

................... 1.58 1.60 1.59 1.59 5.37 5.43 5.36 5.35

  Electrical equipment, appliances,

      and components.................................................... 1.67 1.65 1.65 1.66 1.88 1.85 1.89 1.92

  Transportation equipment..................................... 1.50 1.46 1.49 1.55 14.99 14.55 14.98 15.59

  Furniture and related products............................ 1.20 1.23 1.22 1.21 1.55 1.56 1.52 1.48

  Miscellaneous products.......................................... 1.70 1.70 1.71 1.70 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Nondurable goods industries................................... 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.07 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Food products............................................................. 0.80 0.81 0.80 0.80 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Beverage and tobacco products........................... 1.93 1.90 1.89 1.93 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Textiles.......................................................................... 1.34 1.29 1.28 1.28 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Textile products......................................................... 1.46 1.50 1.52 1.51 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Apparel........................................................................ 1.98 1.98 1.98 2.00 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Leather and allied products................................ 2.03 2.00 1.88 1.85 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Paper products.......................................................... 0.99 0.98 0.99 1.00 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Printing........................................................................ 0.82 0.84 0.83 0.81 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Petroleum and coal products............................... 0.74 0.74 0.76 0.75 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Chemical products................................................... 1.37 1.36 1.36 1.37 (X) (X) (X) (X)

  Plastics and rubber products................................ 1.38 1.36 1.35 1.34 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Oct3 Oct3 Oct3 Oct3

Industry 2017‐ 2017‐ 2017‐ 2017‐

Oct2 Sep Oct2 Sep Oct2 Sep Oct2 Sep

2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018

          

All manufacturing industries.................. (X) 0.10 (X) 0.30 (X) 0.10 (X) 0.10

Durable goods industries....................... 0.10 0.20 0.10 0.40 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10

  Wood products............................................ (X) 0.30 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Nonmetallic mineral products.............. (X) 0.30 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Primary metals............................................. 0.20 0.40 0.10 0.90 ‐0.10 0.30 0.20 0.40

  Fabricated metal products.................... 0.30 0.30 0.70 0.60 0.10 0.20 0.00 0.20

  Machinery...................................................... 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.80 0.00 0.20 0.20 0.10

  Computers and electronic products..... 0.20 0.20 0.10 0.50 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.20

  Electrical equipment, appliances,

      and components..................................... ‐1.30 0.40 ‐1.20 0.70 0.40 0.30 0.40 0.30

  Transportation equipment.................... 0.10 0.30 0.20 0.80 0.10 0.10 0.00 0.10

  Furniture and related products............. (X) 0.40 (X) 0.90 (X) 0.80 (X) 0.40

  Miscellaneous products.......................... (X) 0.20 (X) 0.20 (X) 0.30 (X) 0.10

Nondurable goods industries................... (X) 0.20 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Food products.............................................. (X) 0.20 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Beverage and tobacco products............ (X) 0.30 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Textiles.......................................................... (X) 0.40 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Textile products......................................... (X) 0.50 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Apparel......................................................... (X) 0.50 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.60

  Leather and allied products.................. (X) 0.60 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.40

  Paper products............................................ (X) 0.30 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Printing.......................................................... (X) 0.40 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.40

  Petroleum and coal products............... (X) 0.60 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.80

  Chemical products................................... (X) 0.30 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

  Plastics and rubber products................ (X) 0.30 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.20

X Not Applicable   p Preliminary

r

Revised data due to late receipts and concurrent seasonal adjustment.     2 Excludes the following industries with no unfilled orders:  Wood products; nonmetallic mineral products; medical equipment and supplies; office supplies;

other miscellaneous manufacturing; cutlery and handtools; farm and garden machinery; computer storage and peripheral devices; audio and video

equipment; manufacturing and reproducing magnetic and optical media; batteries; automobiles; light trucks and utility vehicles; heavy duty trucks; and

miscellaneous furniture.     3 Unfilled orders to shipments ratio excludes semiconductor manufacturing.  

Note:  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/>.  

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018. Information on data

sources and methodology can be found on our website at <www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.

X  Not Applicable  

NA  Not Available          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 The current month revisions are the difference between the advance percent change and the percent change as shown in this  publication.      3 The twelve month revisions are the differences between the month‐to‐month percent changes of the preliminary and final estimates.  The

monthly averages are the simple averages of the absolute values of the differences for the months specified. The advance to final percent

change revisions for the durable goods industries are shown in the advance report for the month.       

Note:  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/>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Full Report, December 6, 2018.

Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.

Table 8.  Revisions to Previously Published Monthly Percent Changes 1

[Based on Seasonally Adjusted data from the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey.]  

Shipments New Orders Unfilled Orders Inventories