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FOR RELEASE AT 8:30 AM EST, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

MONTHLY ADVANCE REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, INVENTORIES AND 

ORDERS OCTOBER 2018

Release Number: CB 18-167 M3-1 (18)-10

November 21, 2018 — The U.S. Census Bureau announces the October advance report on manufacturers’ 

shipments, inventories and orders:

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in October decreased $11.5 billion or 4.4 percent to $248.5

billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This decrease, down three of the last four months, 

followed a 0.1 percent September decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.1 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.2 percent. Transportation equipment, down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $11.7 billion or 12.2 percent to $84.7 billion.

Shipments

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

decreased $1.4 billion or 0.6 percent to $254.5 billion. This followed a 1.0 percent September increase. 

Transportation equipment, also down following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, 

$1.6 billion or 1.8 percent to $87.6 billion.

DURABLE GOODS – NEW ORDERS

OCTOBER 2018 $248.5 billion -4.4%°

SEPTEMBER 2018 

(revised) $260.0 billion -0.1%°

Next release: December 21, 2018

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, November 

21, 2018.

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 2.2% 3.2% -4.2% 4.5% 2.7% -1.0% -0.3% 0.9% -1.2% 4.7% -0.1% -4.4%

-8.0%

-7.0%

-6.0%

-5.0%

-4.0%

-3.0%

-2.0%

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

DURABLE GOODS NEW ORDERS 2017-2018

Seasonally Adjusted, Month-To-Month Percentage Change

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

November 21, 2018.
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Unfilled Orders

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

increases, decreased $2.0 billion or 0.2 percent to $1,183.0 billion. This followed a 0.7 percent September

increase. Transportation equipment, down following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the 

decrease, $2.9 billion or 0.4 percent to $815.1 billion.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in October, down two of the last three months, decreased $0.1

billion or virtually unchanged to $410.9 billion. This followed a 0.8 percent September increase. 

Computers and electronic products, down three of the last four months, drove the decrease, $0.4 billion or 

1.0 percent to $43.1 billion. 

Capital Goods

Nondefense new orders for capital goods in October decreased $3.3 billion or 4.2 percent to $75.3 billion. 

Shipments decreased $1.9 billion or 2.4 percent to $77.4 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $2.1 billion or 

0.3 percent to $715.5 billion. Inventories increased less than $0.1 billion or virtually unchanged to $180.1

billion. Defense new orders for capital goods in October decreased $2.3 billion or 16.6 percent to $11.5

billion. Shipments increased $0.3 billion or 2.9 percent to $12.1 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.6 

billion or 0.4 percent to $153.4 billion. Inventories increased $0.1 billion or 0.3 percent to $22.8 billion.

Revised September Data

Revised seasonally adjusted September figures for all manufacturing industries were: new orders, $513.3

billion (revised from $515.3 billion); shipments, $509.2 billion (revised from $509.8 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,185.1 billion (revised from $1,186.5 billion) and total inventories, $680.5 billion (revised from $680.4

billion).

Revised and more detailed estimates, plus nondurable goods data, will be published on December 6, 2018, 

at 10:00 a.m. EST. The Advance Report on durable goods for November is scheduled for release on 

December 21, 2018 at 8:30 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>.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

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

exclude data for semiconductor manufacturing. 
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“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-inprocess, 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 monthto-month change for the Manufacturing Sector. These reporting units may 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 

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>.
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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.  Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders 1

[Estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey.]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item           Percent

Oct Sep Aug Sep ‐ Aug ‐ Jul ‐ Oct Sep Oct Change

2018 2 2018 r 2018 Oct 2 Sep r Aug 2018 2 2018 r 2017 2018 2017 2018/2017

DURABLE GOODS

   Total:               

               Shipments................................ 254,478 255,896 253,456 ‐0.6 1.0 0.9 264,657 263,499 243,336 2,512,204 2,341,705 7.3

               New Orders4

.............................. 248,520 260,015 260,223 ‐4.4 ‐0.1 4.7 254,224 266,377 236,406 2,508,388 2,306,947 8.7

         Excluding transportation:

               Shipments................................ 166,898 166,677 166,896 0.1 ‐0.1 0.1 172,544 170,532 161,311 1,658,995 1,544,247 7.4

               New Orders4

.............................. 163,828 163,584 164,643 0.1 ‐0.6 0.3 167,392 165,919 157,919 1,636,653 1,522,665 7.5

         Excluding defense:

               Shipments................................ 240,374 242,081 239,703 ‐0.7 1.0 0.8 250,800 248,439 230,676 2,379,882 2,220,838 7.2

               New Orders4

.............................. 235,064 237,982 241,252 ‐1.2 ‐1.4 2.6 242,055 240,992 225,962 2,362,085 2,189,256 7.9

    Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

               Shipments................................ 176,645 178,290 176,516 ‐0.9 1.0 1.8 180,838 184,895 166,601 1,746,482 1,623,801 7.6

               New Orders.............................. 174,629 186,534 187,262 ‐6.4 ‐0.4 7.2 175,261 191,930 164,290 1,782,509 1,628,329 9.5

    Primary metals:

               Shipments................................ 21,572 21,769 21,770 ‐0.9 0.0 0.6 22,132 21,330 19,126 215,537 186,712 15.4

               New Orders.............................. 21,430 21,929 22,195 ‐2.3 ‐1.2 1.5 21,923 20,789 19,347 217,936 187,338 16.3

    Fabricated metal products:

               Shipments................................ 32,954 32,864 32,967 0.3 ‐0.3 0.1 34,773 33,141 32,207 330,051 301,924 9.3

               New Orders.............................. 33,093 32,755 33,546 1.0 ‐2.4 0.5 34,045 32,461 31,860 336,506 307,689 9.4

    Machinery:

               Shipments................................ 32,724 32,722 32,894 0.0 ‐0.5 ‐0.3 32,943 32,738 31,598 327,061 306,617 6.7

               New Orders.............................. 33,157 33,315 33,277 ‐0.5 0.1 0.2 33,558 32,618 32,593 331,213 314,204 5.4

    Computers and electronic products 4

:

               Shipments................................ 27,306 27,104 27,129 0.7 ‐0.1 0.0 27,553 29,961 25,835 263,873 248,696 6.1

               New Orders.............................. 23,792 23,418 23,302 1.6 0.5 ‐0.7 22,776 26,899 21,413 227,319 211,852 7.3

         Computers and related products:

               Shipments................................ 1,932 1,884 1,939 2.5 ‐2.8 ‐1.6 1,804 2,236 1,735 17,833 19,548 ‐8.8

               New Orders.............................. 1,952 1,932 1,961 1.0 ‐1.5 ‐1.3 1,824 2,284 1,764 18,078 19,793 ‐8.7

         Communications equipment:

               Shipments................................ 3,667 3,601 3,529 1.8 2.0 ‐0.4 3,401 4,346 3,046 34,075 30,467 11.8

               New Orders.............................. 3,864 3,746 3,629 3.2 3.2 ‐0.1 3,493 4,527 3,396 35,342 32,898 7.4

    Electrical equipment, appliances,    

       and components:                   

               Shipments................................ 11,726 11,641 11,465 0.7 1.5 1.3 12,272 12,105 11,158 113,720 107,081 6.2

               New Orders.............................. 11,770 11,438 11,536 2.9 ‐0.8 0.6 12,224 11,650 11,250 114,002 107,418 6.1

    Transportation equipment:    

               Shipments................................ 87,580 89,219 86,560 ‐1.8 3.1 2.4 92,113 92,967 82,025 853,209 797,458 7.0

               New Orders.............................. 84,692 96,431 95,580 ‐12.2 0.9 13.3 86,832 100,458 78,487 871,735 784,282 11.2

         Motor vehicles and parts:

               Shipments................................ 60,751 60,588 59,903 0.3 1.1 ‐0.6 66,073 60,440 58,104 591,414 547,687 8.0

               New Orders.............................. 60,697 60,586 60,074 0.2 0.9 ‐0.5 64,912 60,591 57,354 590,548 548,216 7.7

         Nondefense aircraft and parts:

               Shipments................................ 12,671 14,781 12,778 ‐14.3 15.7 19.9 11,792 17,480 10,973 128,687 126,770 1.5

               New Orders.............................. 10,499 13,358 16,547 ‐21.4 ‐19.3 63.7 9,114 14,424 10,690 132,793 116,756 13.7

         Defense aircraft and parts:

               Shipments................................ 4,757 4,767 4,693 ‐0.2 1.6 ‐1.0 4,610 5,380 4,467 44,300 42,575 4.1

               New Orders.............................. 4,710 11,584 5,337 ‐59.3 117.1 20.4 4,238 12,259 3,222 50,564 42,064 20.2

    All other durable goods:           

               Shipments................................ 40,616 40,577 40,671 0.1 ‐0.2 ‐0.2 42,871 41,257 41,387 408,753 393,217 4.0

               New Orders.............................. 40,586 40,729 40,787 ‐0.4 ‐0.1 0.1 42,866 41,502 41,456 409,677 394,164 3.9

    Capital goods3

:

               Shipments................................ 89,506 91,109 89,033 ‐1.8 2.3 2.8 89,036 97,842 83,018 877,015 816,339 7.4

               New Orders.............................. 86,801 92,368 97,603 ‐6.0 ‐5.4 12.7 84,501 99,215 81,284 890,578 816,930 9.0

           Nondefense capital goods:

               Shipments................................ 77,386 79,325 77,376 ‐2.4 2.5 3.0 77,105 85,075 72,402 764,104 715,860 6.7

               New Orders.............................. 75,284 78,554 81,095 ‐4.2 ‐3.1 7.4 74,579 81,868 72,768 771,347 719,290 7.2

                Excluding aircraft:

                    Shipments........................... 68,828 68,610 68,724 0.3 ‐0.2 ‐0.1 69,266 71,810 65,701 676,574 632,802 6.9

                    New Orders.......................... 69,356 69,387 69,747 0.0 ‐0.5 ‐0.2 69,644 72,082 66,453 683,698 642,639 6.4

           Defense capital goods:

               Shipments................................ 12,120 11,784 11,657 2.9 1.1 1.5 11,931 12,767 10,616 112,911 100,479 12.4

               New Orders.............................. 11,517 13,814 16,508 ‐16.6 ‐16.3 48.8 9,922 17,347 8,516 119,231 97,640 22.1

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 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.   

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Advance Report, November 21, 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.  Durable Goods Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders and Total Inventories 1

[Estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Manufacturers' Shipments,  Inventories,  and Orders Survey.]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item           Change

Oct Sep Aug Sep ‐ Aug ‐ Jul ‐ Oct Sep Oct 2018/

2018 2 2018 r 2018 Oct 2 Sep r Aug 2018 2 2018 r 2017 2017

DURABLE GOODS

   Total:                   

               Unfilled Orders 4......................... 1,183,035 1,185,051 1,176,807 ‐0.2 0.7 0.9 1,172,439 1,178,016 1,119,195 4.8

               Total Inventories....................... 410,905 411,005 407,936 0.0 0.8 ‐0.2 411,399 410,558 393,888 4.4

         Excluding transportation:

               Unfilled Orders 4......................... 367,943 367,071 366,039 0.2 0.3 0.5 364,074 364,370 347,388 4.8

               Total Inventories....................... 279,919 280,497 278,586 ‐0.2 0.7 0.4 279,735 280,326 266,213 5.1

         Excluding defense:

               Unfilled Orders 4

........................... 987,830 989,198 989,172 ‐0.1 0.0 0.6 978,277 982,166 939,408 4.1

               Total Inventories....................... 383,815 383,954 380,979 0.0 0.8 ‐0.1 384,355 383,652 366,747 4.8

    Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 1,183,035 1,185,051 1,176,807 ‐0.2 0.7 0.9 1,172,439 1,178,016 1,119,195 4.8

               Total Inventories....................... 334,636 334,703 331,682 0.0 0.9 ‐0.2 335,377 334,605 320,610 4.6

    Primary metals:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 31,515 31,657 31,497 ‐0.4 0.5 1.4 30,277 30,486 26,501 14.2

               Total Inventories....................... 35,532 35,524 35,669 0.0 ‐0.4 0.3 35,526 35,900 32,902 8.0

    Fabricated metal products:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 84,779 84,640 84,749 0.2 ‐0.1 0.7 83,829 84,557 77,462 8.2

               Total Inventories....................... 54,227 54,229 53,777 0.0 0.8 0.7 54,012 54,285 49,675 8.7

    Machinery:     

               Unfilled Orders......................... 106,090 105,657 105,064 0.4 0.6 0.4 105,489 104,874 103,494 1.9

               Total Inventories....................... 69,340 69,579 69,054 ‐0.3 0.8 0.9 69,411 69,750 66,654 4.1

    Computers and electronic products4

:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 116,327 115,899 115,460 0.4 0.4 0.1 115,759 115,680 111,926 3.4

               Total Inventories....................... 43,067 43,497 43,068 ‐1.0 1.0 ‐0.2 43,312 43,132 42,974 0.8

         Computers and related products:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 2,123 2,103 2,055 1.0 2.3 1.1 2,123 2,103 1,824 16.4

               Total Inventories....................... 3,653 3,750 3,684 ‐2.6 1.8 0.5 3,695 3,717 3,786 ‐2.4

         Communications equipment:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 26,549 26,352 26,207 0.7 0.6 0.4 26,326 26,234 24,831 6.0

               Total Inventories....................... 5,388 5,365 5,348 0.4 0.3 ‐0.7 5,428 5,280 5,317 2.1

    Electrical equipment, appliances,    

        and components:                   

               Unfilled Orders......................... 19,768 19,724 19,927 0.2 ‐1.0 0.4 19,314 19,362 18,985 1.7

               Total Inventories....................... 19,242 19,241 18,879 0.0 1.9 0.2 19,192 19,031 17,703 8.4

    Transportation equipment:    

               Unfilled Orders......................... 815,092 817,980 810,768 ‐0.4 0.9 1.1 808,365 813,646 771,807 4.7

               Total Inventories....................... 130,986 130,508 129,350 0.4 0.9 ‐1.4 131,664 130,232 127,675 3.1

         Motor vehicles and parts:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 26,813 26,867 26,869 ‐0.2 0.0 0.6 25,641 26,802 25,011 2.5

               Total Inventories....................... 36,469 36,377 36,565 0.3 ‐0.5 0.2 36,792 36,501 35,128 4.7

         Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 601,786 603,958 605,381 ‐0.4 ‐0.2 0.6 597,216 599,894 577,698 3.4

               Total Inventories....................... 66,866 66,594 65,342 0.4 1.9 ‐2.3 67,140 66,178 64,702 3.8

         Defense Aircraft and parts:       

               Unfilled Orders......................... 79,487 79,534 72,717 ‐0.1 9.4 0.9 78,758 79,130 71,285 10.5

               Total Inventories....................... 13,199 13,143 12,877 0.4 2.1 ‐0.3 13,203 13,123 13,154 0.4

    All other durable goods:           

               Unfilled Orders......................... 9,464 9,494 9,342 ‐0.3 1.6 1.3 9,406 9,411 9,020 4.3

               Total Inventories....................... 58,511 58,427 58,139 0.1 0.5 0.2 58,282 58,228 56,305 3.5

    Capital goods3

:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 868,967 871,672 870,413 ‐0.3 0.1 1.0 862,656 867,191 839,305 2.8

               Total Inventories....................... 202,846 202,763 200,472 0.0 1.1 ‐0.6 203,395 202,045 195,810 3.9

           Nondefense capital goods:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 715,522 717,624 718,395 ‐0.3 ‐0.1 0.5 710,055 712,581 693,702 2.4

               Total Inventories....................... 180,070 180,045 177,868 0.0 1.2 ‐0.5 180,669 179,452 173,135 4.4

                Excluding aircraft:               

                    Unfilled Orders.................... 223,059 222,531 221,754 0.2 0.4 0.5 221,614 221,236 217,421 1.9

                    Total Inventories................... 125,350 125,658 124,534 ‐0.2 0.9 0.5 125,837 125,481 120,812 4.2

           Defense capital goods:

               Unfilled Orders......................... 153,445 154,048 152,018 ‐0.4 1.3 3.3 152,601 154,610 145,603 4.8

               Total Inventories....................... 22,776 22,718 22,604 0.3 0.5 ‐0.9 22,726 22,593 22,675 0.2

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 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.   

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, October Advance Report, November 21, 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>.