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FOR RELEASE AT 10:00 AM EST, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020

MONTHLY FULL REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, INVENTORIES AND ORDERS 

OCTOBER 2020

Release Number: CB 20-175 M3-2 (20)-10

Statement Regarding COVID-19 Impact: The Census Bureau continues to monitor response and data quality 

and has determined that estimates in this release meet publication standards. For more information, see < M3 

COVID-19 FAQs>.

December 4, 2020 — The U.S. Census Bureau announces the October full report on manufacturers’ 

shipments, inventories and orders:

MANUFACTURED GOODS – NEW ORDERS

OCTOBER 2020 $480.8 billion +1.0%°

SEPTEMBER 2020

(revised) $475.9 billion +1.3%°

Next release: January 6, 2021

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 4, 

2020.

Summary

New orders for manufactured goods in October, up six consecutive months, increased $4.9 billion or 1.0

percent to $480.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.3 percent September

increase. Shipments, also up six consecutive months, increased $4.9 billion or 1.0 percent to $488.6

billion. This followed a 0.5 percent September increase. Unfilled orders, down seven of the last eight

months, decreased $2.6 billion or 0.2 percent to $1,073.3 billion. This followed a 0.2 percent September

decrease. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.38, down from 6.57 in September. Inventories, up

two of the last three months, increased $1.2 billion or 0.2 percent to $687.3 billion. This followed a 0.1 

percent September decrease. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.41, down from 1.42 in September.

Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20

% Change -1.1% 1.7% -0.4% 0.2% -11.0% -13.5% 7.7% 6.4% 6.5% 0.6% 1.3% 1.0%

-14.0%

-13.0%

-12.0%

-11.0%

-10.0%

-9.0%

-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%

MANUFACTURERS' NEW ORDERS 2019-2020

Seasonally Adjusted, Month-To-Month Percentage Change

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

December 4, 2020.
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New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in October, up six consecutive months, increased $3.2 billion 

or 1.3 percent to $241.0 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This followed a 2.1

percent September increase. Transportation equipment, up five of the last six months, led the increase, 

$1.1 billion or 1.4 percent to $77.3 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $1.7

billion or 0.7 percent to $239.8 billion.

Shipments

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in October, up five of the last six months, increased $3.2 billion 

or 1.3 percent to $248.8 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This followed a 0.5

percent September increase. Fabricated metal products, also up five of the last six months, led the 

increase, $0.7 billion or 2.4 percent to $30.9 billion. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up six

consecutive months, increased $1.7 billion or 0.7 percent to $239.8 billion. This followed a 0.5 percent 

September increase. Chemical products, up seven of the last eight months, led the increase, $0.8 billion or 

1.1 percent to $69.4 billion.

Unfilled Orders

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in October, down seven of the last eight months,

decreased $2.6 billion or 0.2 percent to $1,073.3 billion, up from the previously published 0.3 percent 

decrease. This followed a 0.2 percent September decrease. Transportation equipment, down eight

consecutive months, drove the decrease, $4.5 billion or 0.6 percent to $717.1 billion.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in October, up two consecutive months, increased $1.0 billion 

or 0.2 percent to $422.5 billion, down from the previously published 0.3 percent increase. This followed a 

0.3 percent September increase. Transportation equipment, up twenty-five of the last twenty-six months, 

led the increase, $0.6 billion or 0.4 percent to $148.1 billion. Inventories of manufactured nondurable 

goods, up two of the last three months, increased $0.1 billion or 0.1 percent to $264.8 billion. This 

followed a 0.5 percent September decrease. Chemical products, up four of the last five months, drove the 

increase, $0.6 billion or 0.6 percent to $98.4 billion. By stage of fabrication, October materials and 

supplies increased 0.6 percent in durable goods and decreased 0.2 percent in nondurable goods. Work in 

process decreased 0.2 percent in durable goods and 1.4 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods

increased 0.4 percent in durable goods and 0.8 percent in nondurable goods.
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The Advance Report on durable goods for November is scheduled for release on December 24, 2020 at

8:30 a.m. EST and the Full Report on January 6, 2021 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>.

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-ofmonth 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 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-tomonth 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 60

percent of the total value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2017 Economic 

Census, and these companies include roughly 61 percent of the manufacturing companies with $500 

million or more in shipments in the 2017 Economic Census. The companies for which shipments data 

are currently reported in the M3 survey represent approximately 51 percent of the total value of 

shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2017 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 
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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>.

2021 Release Dates for the M3 Survey

Survey month Advance Report 

(8:30 a.m. release time)

Full Report 

(10:00 a.m. release time)

Nov-20 Thu 12/24/2020 Wed 1/6/2021

Dec-20 Wed 1/27/2021 Thu 2/4/2021

Jan-21 Thu 2/25/2021 Thu 3/4/2021

Feb-21 Wed 3/24/2021 Mon 4/5/2021

Mar-21 Mon 4/26/2021 Tue 5/4/2021

Apr-21 Thu 5/27/2021 Fri 6/4/2021

May-21 Thu 6/24/2021 Fri 7/2/2021

Jun-21 Tue 7/27/2021 Tue 8/3/2021

Jul-21 Wed 8/25/2021 Thu 9/2/2021

Aug-21 Mon 9/27/2021 Mon 10/4/2021

Sep-21 Wed 10/27/2021 Wed 11/3/2021

Oct-21 Wed 11/24/2021 Fri 12/3/2021

Nov-21 Thu 12/23/2021 Not available at this time

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pfei_schedule_release_dates_2021.pdf 
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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/>.

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.

###
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. 2020/

2020p 2020r 2020 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2020p 2020r 2020 2019 2020p 2019 2019

 All manufacturing industries.................. 488,600 483,743 481,216 1.0 0.5 0.3 501,929 502,538 491,215 516,737 4,702,406 5,041,761 -6.7

 Excluding transportation................... 406,885 401,910 399,708 1.2 0.6 0.7 416,313 415,935 408,024 429,208 3,972,323 4,173,589 -4.8

 Excluding defense.............................. 474,152 469,952 467,353 0.9 0.6 0.3 487,506 487,348 477,608 502,968 4,564,256 4,903,697 -6.9

 With unfilled orders............................ 168,174 163,756 163,503 2.7 0.2 0.9 170,785 172,655 166,043 174,714 1,622,488 1,738,262 -6.7

 Durable goods industries......................... 248,762 245,600 244,347 1.3 0.5 -0.2 256,895 259,427 249,382 255,436 2,337,977 2,504,933 -6.7

 Wood products....................................... 10,191 10,048 9,740 1.4 3.2 2.9 10,728 10,432 10,263 9,555 94,787 91,345 3.8

 Nonmetallic mineral products.................... 11,897 11,784 11,737 1.0 0.4 -0.7 13,020 12,635 12,716 12,715 118,048 116,229 1.6

 Primary metals....................................... 18,750 18,360 18,350 2.1 0.1 1.3 18,954 18,560 18,621 19,805 186,167 203,502 -8.5

 Iron and steel mills............................ 9,566 9,347 9,189 2.3 1.7 0.0 9,696 9,310 9,335 10,206 94,910 106,915 -11.2

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals.......... 7,972 7,893 7,918 1.0 -0.3 2.9 8,068 8,067 8,044 8,147 78,703 81,283 -3.2

 Ferrous metal foundries....................... 1,212 1,120 1,243 8.2 -9.9 0.2 1,190 1,183 1,242 1,452 12,554 15,304 -18.0

 Fabricated metal products....................... 30,864 30,136 30,031 2.4 0.3 -0.5 31,965 31,490 31,332 33,527 303,870 320,997 -5.3

 Machinery............................................. 31,475 31,034 31,146 1.4 -0.4 2.0 31,910 31,765 30,799 32,556 306,946 323,437 -5.1

 Farm machinery................................. 2,194 2,126 2,153 3.2 -1.3 8.2 2,183 1,966 1,969 1,856 19,298 20,397 -5.4

 Construction machinery..................... 2,645 2,555 2,564 3.5 -0.4 -0.8 2,877 2,496 2,536 3,136 26,161 31,003 -15.6

 Mining, oil field, and 

 gas field machinery.......................... 1,097 1,061 1,069 3.4 -0.7 -1.7 1,103 1,121 1,045 1,489 11,904 14,548 -18.2

 Industrial machinery.......................... 3,153 3,139 3,195 0.4 -1.8 3.1 3,153 3,555 3,191 3,128 31,449 29,548 6.4

 Photographic equipment...................... 559 577 583 -3.1 -1.0 -0.7 551 672 551 535 5,548 5,346 3.8

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment............ 4,031 3,974 4,056 1.4 -2.0 0.4 3,867 4,140 4,246 3,635 38,597 39,388 -2.0

 Metalworking machinery..................... 2,509 2,483 2,466 1.0 0.7 2.1 2,673 2,643 2,422 2,801 24,362 26,697 -8.7

 Turbines, generators, and other

 power transmission equipment....... 3,844 3,804 3,819 1.1 -0.4 3.6 3,992 3,777 3,869 4,427 38,124 41,345 -7.8

 Material handling equipment............... 2,747 2,721 2,669 1.0 1.9 3.0 2,853 2,767 2,683 2,956 26,835 28,675 -6.4

 Computers and electronic products2.......... 31,078 30,408 29,917 2.2 1.6 0.5 30,984 34,127 30,316 28,518 289,877 280,006 3.5

 Computers........................................ 586 576 552 1.7 4.3 -0.7 584 624 623 542 5,621 6,145 -8.5

 Computer storage devices..................... 510 434 458 17.5 -5.2 -1.3 478 478 411 380 4,457 3,339 33.5

 Other peripheral equipment................ 814 797 865 2.1 -7.9 3.0 764 936 852 666 7,555 6,897 9.5

 Nondefense communications

 equipment.................................... 4,391 3,971 3,862 10.6 2.8 1.7 3,774 4,892 3,514 2,888 35,828 32,185 11.3

 Defense communications equipment.... 276 277 292 -0.4 -5.1 6.2 292 323 284 233 2,706 2,555 5.9

 Audio and video equipment.................... 372 366 352 1.6 4.0 -3.0 513 337 341 424 3,031 3,200 -5.3

 Electronic components......................... 4,449 4,411 4,398 0.9 0.3 0.7 4,367 4,579 4,741 3,871 42,927 39,010 10.0

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 1,551 1,511 1,511 2.6 0.0 -0.8 1,485 1,669 1,512 1,556 15,067 15,977 -5.7

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment..................................... 3,072 3,047 2,962 0.8 2.9 -3.2 3,000 3,269 2,972 2,933 29,595 28,881 2.5

 Electromedical, measuring,

 and control instruments................. 9,414 9,260 9,155 1.7 1.1 2.8 9,378 10,544 9,111 8,827 88,838 89,816 -1.1

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components................................... 11,009 10,559 10,600 4.3 -0.4 0.0 11,331 11,430 10,931 11,150 106,950 109,627 -2.4

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 950 976 971 -2.7 0.5 -0.7 1,004 1,006 1,014 1,077 9,716 10,104 -3.8

 Household appliances........................ 2,242 1,921 2,050 16.7 -6.3 -1.6 2,309 2,170 2,083 1,942 19,157 18,778 2.0

 Electrical equipment............................ 2,878 2,855 2,871 0.8 -0.6 -0.1 2,781 3,123 2,964 3,310 31,001 34,228 -9.4

 Batteries........................................... 771 769 772 0.3 -0.4 4.2 907 865 812 892 7,367 7,432 -0.9

 Transportation equipment........................ 81,715 81,833 81,508 -0.1 0.4 -1.9 85,616 86,603 83,191 87,529 730,083 868,172 -15.9

 Automobiles..................................... 7,606 8,057 7,572 -5.6 6.4 -17.9 8,132 8,327 7,856 9,014 63,663 89,887 -29.2

 Light trucks and utility vehicles.............. 21,108 22,651 22,820 -6.8 -0.7 -2.7 23,264 24,611 23,886 21,774 166,999 206,747 -19.2

 Heavy duty trucks ............................. 2,481 2,530 2,344 -1.9 7.9 1.3 2,644 2,647 2,350 2,614 22,061 26,807 -17.7

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers.................................... 28,922 28,814 28,554 0.4 0.9 -2.1 30,487 29,275 29,438 29,497 269,702 286,108 -5.7

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 6,311 5,107 5,271 23.6 -3.1 33.5 5,678 5,753 4,933 9,422 59,125 110,890 -46.7

 Defense aircraft and parts.................. 4,206 3,742 4,095 12.4 -8.6 -4.2 4,177 4,235 4,074 4,476 40,341 46,042 -12.4

 Ships and boats................................. 2,651 2,695 2,740 -1.6 -1.6 4.9 2,664 2,742 2,672 2,986 26,436 30,261 -12.6

 Furniture and related products.................. 6,611 6,531 6,556 1.2 -0.4 -1.6 6,788 6,549 6,934 6,824 65,176 66,319 -1.7

 Miscellaneous durable goods................. 15,172 14,907 14,762 1.8 1.0 1.1 15,599 15,836 14,279 13,257 136,073 125,299 8.6

 Nondurable goods industries..................... 239,838 238,143 236,869 0.7 0.5 0.8 245,034 243,111 241,833 261,301 2,364,429 2,536,828 -6.8

 Food products....................................... 68,079 67,630 67,316 0.7 0.5 -0.7 71,412 69,520 68,314 70,690 676,028 667,945 1.2

 Grain and oilseed milling....................... 7,102 7,109 7,125 -0.1 -0.2 -0.1 7,442 7,244 7,314 7,181 70,435 68,761 2.4

 Dairy products.................................. 10,619 10,498 10,507 1.2 -0.1 -1.8 10,960 10,531 10,601 10,902 105,033 102,719 2.3

 Meat, poultry, and seafood products... 18,066 18,032 17,957 0.2 0.4 -1.2 18,472 18,057 18,303 19,765 185,167 195,827 -5.4

 Beverage and tobacco products................ 13,439 13,819 13,499 -2.7 2.4 1.4 13,561 14,212 13,967 13,456 132,696 134,795 -1.6

 Beverages......................................... 9,479 9,422 9,304 0.6 1.3 -1.5 9,601 9,815 9,772 9,476 93,690 93,096 0.6

 Tobacco............................................ 3,960 4,397 4,195 -9.9 4.8 8.4 3,960 4,397 4,195 3,980 39,006 41,699 -6.5

 Textile mills........................................... 2,204 2,193 2,165 0.5 1.3 2.7 2,267 2,212 2,290 2,386 21,638 23,692 -8.7

 Textile products................................... 1,838 1,878 1,835 -2.1 2.3 4.1 1,911 1,869 1,913 2,044 18,392 20,471 -10.2

 Apparel................................................ 870 881 839 -1.2 5.0 -3.6 1,009 932 910 1,060 8,629 9,032 -4.5

 Leather and allied products...................... 435 437 438 -0.5 -0.2 5.0 441 427 433 406 3,907 4,047 -3.5

 Paper products...................................... 16,698 16,433 16,411 1.6 0.1 0.9 17,242 16,914 16,896 16,978 164,250 162,916 0.8

 Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills....... 6,559 6,616 6,560 -0.9 0.9 1.6 6,708 6,880 6,847 6,827 65,869 65,871 0.0

 Paperboard containers........................ 5,990 6,031 6,052 -0.7 -0.3 1.2 6,303 6,239 6,225 6,213 59,452 58,590 1.5

 Printing................................................. 7,094 6,918 6,846 2.5 1.1 -2.6 7,632 7,261 6,888 8,046 69,350 71,412 -2.9

 Petroleum and coal products.................. 39,822 39,519 39,531 0.8 0.0 4.0 39,844 39,549 41,717 55,863 389,887 556,330 -29.9

 Petroleum refineries.......................... 35,584 35,348 35,418 0.7 -0.2 4.3 35,178 34,825 36,872 51,138 347,228 512,557 -32.3

 Chemical products..................................... 69,382 68,613 68,210 1.1 0.6 0.5 68,910 69,907 68,278 68,885 680,101 677,789 0.3

 Pesticides, fertilizers, and other

 agricultural chemicals....................... 2,879 2,712 2,702 6.2 0.4 -1.9 2,315 2,506 2,298 2,249 28,065 29,648 -5.3

 Pharmaceuticals and medicines............. 25,432 25,402 25,408 0.1 0.0 0.6 25,402 26,867 25,320 23,859 246,444 222,352 10.8

 Paints, coatings, and adhesives.......... 4,712 4,731 4,609 -0.4 2.6 4.1 4,764 4,775 4,803 4,584 45,620 44,178 3.3

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 19,977 19,822 19,779 0.8 0.2 0.9 20,805 20,308 20,227 21,487 199,551 208,399 -4.2

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 4, 2020. 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. 2020/

2020p 2020r 2020 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2020p 2020r 2020 2019 2020p 2019 2019

All manufacturing industries2........................ 480,816 475,929 469,802 1.0 1.3 0.6 489,725 492,188 474,787 508,532 4,574,895 4,969,032 -7.9

 Excluding transportation2...................... 403,558 399,721 396,026 1.0 0.9 0.9 411,511 411,736 401,214 422,590 3,930,638 4,128,022 -4.8

 Excluding defense2

.............................. 467,089 464,859 455,300 0.5 2.1 0.9 478,230 478,177 462,528 492,631 4,438,679 4,828,192 -8.1

 With unfilled orders2............................. 165,564 161,227 157,125 2.7 2.6 1.9 164,404 168,273 155,078 172,301 1,544,581 1,714,228 -9.9

 Durable goods industries2......................... 240,978 237,786 232,933 1.3 2.1 0.4 244,691 249,077 232,954 247,231 2,210,466 2,432,204 -9.1

 Primary metals........................................ 19,442 19,362 18,526 0.4 4.5 1.9 19,474 19,016 18,505 19,486 186,181 202,601 -8.1

 Iron and steel mills.............................. 10,168 10,170 9,278 0.0 9.6 0.9 9,900 9,723 9,300 9,890 94,782 106,454 -11.0

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals.......... 8,002 8,025 8,008 -0.3 0.2 4.9 8,320 8,170 7,946 8,212 78,620 81,224 -3.2

 Ferrous metal foundries....................... 1,272 1,167 1,240 9.0 -5.9 -9.0 1,254 1,123 1,259 1,384 12,779 14,923 -14.4

 Fabricated metal products........................ 31,861 31,137 30,438 2.3 2.3 -0.2 32,254 31,748 31,239 32,646 306,037 322,174 -5.0

 Machinery............................................. 31,683 31,782 31,570 -0.3 0.7 2.6 32,043 32,075 30,673 32,425 310,021 322,218 -3.8

 Construction machinery........................ 2,676 2,625 2,726 1.9 -3.7 3.1 2,903 2,662 2,573 3,049 26,055 28,204 -7.6

 Mining, oil field, and

 gas field machinery.......................... 1,087 1,181 1,170 -8.0 0.9 11.5 1,093 1,241 1,146 1,494 11,732 14,053 -16.5

 Industrial machinery............................ 3,059 3,135 3,148 -2.4 -0.4 2.6 3,174 3,491 3,127 3,164 31,352 29,592 5.9

 Photographic equipment....................... 528 530 546 -0.4 -2.9 1.1 555 667 509 567 5,361 5,113 4.9

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment............... 3,945 4,001 4,179 -1.4 -4.3 -0.3 3,774 4,094 4,225 3,655 39,213 39,916 -1.8

 Metalworking machinery....................... 2,517 2,606 2,533 -3.4 2.9 1.8 2,585 2,699 2,447 2,838 25,148 26,226 -4.1

 Turbines, generators, and other 

 power transmission equipment........... 3,794 3,866 3,670 -1.9 5.3 -1.9 3,942 3,839 3,720 4,428 37,881 41,233 -8.1

 Material handling equipment.................. 2,922 2,830 2,726 3.3 3.8 6.3 2,929 2,793 2,595 2,875 26,999 28,674 -5.8

 Computers and electronic products2........... 25,998 25,196 24,864 3.2 1.3 1.2 25,302 28,624 24,022 22,913 240,969 233,645 3.1

 Computers........................................ 593 597 534 -0.7 11.8 -2.0 591 645 605 569 5,476 6,127 -10.6

 Nondefense communications

 equipment...................................... 4,378 4,008 3,933 9.2 1.9 2.7 3,941 4,881 3,494 2,946 36,192 32,631 10.9

 Defense communications equipment....... 246 260 264 -5.4 -1.5 2.7 248 317 258 156 2,370 2,204 7.5

 Electronic components......................... 4,456 4,432 4,302 0.5 3.0 2.5 4,477 4,627 4,508 4,105 42,602 39,404 8.1

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 1,661 1,590 1,617 4.5 -1.7 -2.7 1,700 1,777 1,610 1,756 16,251 16,793 -3.2

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 3,024 2,965 2,875 2.0 3.1 -4.3 2,765 3,392 2,609 2,682 29,266 30,066 -2.7

 Electromedical, measuring,

 and control instruments..................... 9,475 9,274 9,190 2.2 0.9 2.9 9,299 10,726 8,842 8,823 89,121 89,678 -0.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components................................... 10,879 10,784 10,868 0.9 -0.8 0.3 11,238 11,595 10,913 11,407 108,253 110,795 -2.3

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 940 980 943 -4.1 3.9 -4.1 1,004 1,016 971 1,162 9,632 10,491 -8.2

 Household appliances.......................... 2,174 1,979 2,188 9.9 -9.6 -1.7 2,284 2,379 2,132 2,015 19,867 18,976 4.7

 Electrical equipment............................ 2,886 2,859 2,927 0.9 -2.3 0.9 2,810 2,935 2,933 3,301 31,071 34,376 -9.6

 Transportation equipment........................ 77,258 76,208 73,776 1.4 3.3 -0.9 78,214 80,452 73,573 85,942 644,257 841,010 -23.4

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers..................................... 28,912 28,868 28,696 0.2 0.6 -1.2 29,912 29,456 29,662 28,675 269,231 283,652 -5.1

 Nondefense aircraft and parts3................ 2,639 1,902 -3,248 38.7 (NA) (NA) 1,608 561 -3,820 6,884 -25,165 86,295 -129.2

 Defense aircraft and parts.................... 2,957 1,649 3,979 79.3 -58.6 -13.8 2,005 2,716 2,994 7,188 34,289 48,917 -29.9

 Ships and boats.................................. 2,644 2,738 3,123 -3.4 -12.3 -16.1 2,089 2,288 2,282 2,754 29,501 29,227 0.9

 Furniture and related products................... 6,610 6,637 6,654 -0.4 -0.3 -0.6 6,832 6,723 6,773 6,902 65,908 66,829 -1.4

 Nondurable goods industries..................... 239,838 238,143 236,869 0.7 0.5 0.8 245,034 243,111 241,833 261,301 2,364,429 2,536,828 -6.8

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. 

3

 (NA) - New Orders month-to-month percent change is not provided for Nondefense aircraft and parts because the denominator has a negative value. 

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 4, 2020. 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. 2020/

2020p 2020r 2020 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2020p 2020r 2020 2019 2019

All manufacturing industries2

...................... 1,073,292 1,075,902 1,078,431 -0.2 -0.2 -0.6 1,064,235 1,070,616 1,074,998 1,140,226 -6.7

 Excluding transportation2...................... 356,205 354,358 351,262 0.5 0.9 0.4 353,044 352,023 350,254 347,142 1.7

 Excluding defense2............................. 855,172 857,061 856,869 -0.2 0.0 -0.8 849,321 852,774 855,977 930,943 -8.8

 Durable goods industries2........................ 1,073,292 1,075,902 1,078,431 -0.2 -0.2 -0.6 1,064,235 1,070,616 1,074,998 1,140,226 -6.7

 Primary metals........................................ 32,524 31,832 30,830 2.2 3.3 0.6 31,473 30,953 30,497 30,035 4.8

 Iron and steel mills............................... 14,293 13,691 12,868 4.4 6.4 0.7 13,539 13,335 12,922 13,171 2.8

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals............. 12,666 12,636 12,504 0.2 1.1 0.7 12,451 12,199 12,096 12,187 2.2

 Ferrous metal foundries........................ 5,565 5,505 5,458 1.1 0.9 -0.1 5,483 5,419 5,479 4,677 17.2

 Fabricated metal products......................... 75,401 74,404 73,403 1.3 1.4 0.6 74,617 74,328 74,070 74,093 0.7

 Machinery.............................................. 98,617 98,409 97,661 0.2 0.8 0.4 97,803 97,670 97,360 95,843 2.0

 Construction machinery......................... 5,489 5,458 5,388 0.6 1.3 3.1 5,271 5,245 5,079 5,476 -3.7

 Mining, oil field, and

 gas field machinery.......................... 3,850 3,860 3,740 -0.3 3.2 2.8 3,850 3,860 3,740 4,171 -7.7

 Industrial machinery............................. 8,452 8,546 8,550 -1.1 0.0 -0.5 8,394 8,373 8,437 8,728 -3.8

 Photographic equipment........................ 862 893 940 -3.5 -5.0 -3.8 883 879 884 1,132 -22.0

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment................ 7,265 7,351 7,324 -1.2 0.4 1.7 7,112 7,205 7,251 6,671 6.6

 Metalworking machinery........................ 8,487 8,479 8,356 0.1 1.5 0.8 8,400 8,488 8,432 7,976 5.3

 Turbines, generators, and other 

 power transmission equipment............ 23,363 23,413 23,351 -0.2 0.3 -0.6 23,363 23,413 23,351 23,875 -2.1

 Material handling equipment................... 11,347 11,172 11,063 1.6 1.0 0.5 11,200 11,124 11,098 10,751 4.2

 Computers and electronic products2............. 118,798 118,704 118,631 0.1 0.1 0.0 118,438 118,297 117,832 117,957 0.4

 Computers......................................... 1,863 1,856 1,835 0.4 1.1 -1.0 1,863 1,856 1,835 1,973 -5.6

 Nondefense communications

 equipment...................................... 24,963 24,976 24,939 -0.1 0.1 0.3 24,996 24,829 24,840 24,620 1.5

 Defense communications equipment........ 623 653 670 -4.6 -2.5 -4.0 621 665 671 913 -32.0

 Electronic components.......................... 14,455 14,448 14,427 0.0 0.1 -0.7 14,340 14,230 14,182 14,474 -0.9

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment....................................... 22,393 22,283 22,204 0.5 0.4 0.5 22,532 22,317 22,209 21,571 4.5

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment....................................... 30,567 30,615 30,697 -0.2 -0.3 -0.3 30,392 30,627 30,504 30,924 -1.7

 Electromedical, measuring,

 and control instruments...................... 23,934 23,873 23,859 0.3 0.1 0.1 23,694 23,773 23,591 23,482 0.9

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components.................................... 22,222 22,352 22,127 -0.6 1.0 1.2 22,086 22,179 22,014 20,974 5.3

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,646 1,656 1,652 -0.6 0.2 -1.7 1,663 1,663 1,653 1,720 -3.3

 Household appliances........................... 2,135 2,203 2,145 -3.1 2.7 6.9 2,266 2,291 2,082 1,544 46.8

 Electrical equipment............................. 8,656 8,648 8,644 0.1 0.0 0.7 8,487 8,458 8,646 8,480 0.1

 Transportation equipment......................... 717,087 721,544 727,169 -0.6 -0.8 -1.1 711,191 718,593 724,744 793,084 -10.3

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers...................................... 21,207 21,217 21,163 0.0 0.3 0.7 20,277 20,852 20,671 19,447 4.3

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 477,602 481,274 484,479 -0.8 -0.7 -1.7 475,684 479,754 484,946 565,709 -15.9

 Defense aircraft and parts..................... 80,620 81,869 83,962 -1.5 -2.5 -0.1 78,985 81,157 82,676 83,053 -4.9

 Ships and boats.................................. 49,874 49,881 49,838 0.0 0.1 0.8 48,214 48,789 49,243 41,259 16.9

 Furniture and related products................... 8,144 8,145 8,039 0.0 1.3 1.2 8,128 8,084 7,910 7,657 6.2

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 4, 2020. 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. 2020/

2020p 2020r 2020 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2020p 2020r 2020 2019 2019

 All manufacturing industries...................... 687,258 686,099 686,479 0.2 -0.1 0.0 690,258 686,179 689,884 699,686 -1.3

 Excluding transportation........................ 539,181 538,599 539,610 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 540,737 537,782 541,889 560,207 -3.5

 Excluding defense............................. 661,608 660,373 660,994 0.2 -0.1 0.0 664,663 660,427 664,290 674,215 -1.4

 With unfilled orders............................. 344,713 344,582 343,267 0.0 0.4 -0.1 345,172 344,929 346,021 342,208 0.9

 Durable goods industries........................ 422,460 421,434 420,373 0.2 0.3 -0.1 422,909 421,540 423,444 421,189 0.4

 Wood products........................................ 12,141 11,916 11,780 1.9 1.2 1.2 12,083 11,660 11,593 11,870 1.8

 Nonmetallic mineral products..................... 13,977 14,009 14,031 -0.2 -0.2 -0.7 13,626 13,816 13,964 14,198 -4.0

 Primary metals......................................... 33,624 33,544 33,120 0.2 1.3 -0.6 33,286 33,380 33,210 35,107 -5.2

 Iron and steel mills............................... 18,274 18,343 18,227 -0.4 0.6 -1.7 18,079 18,321 18,317 19,657 -8.0

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals............ 13,283 13,122 12,816 1.2 2.4 1.1 13,171 13,046 12,840 13,247 -0.6

 Ferrous metal foundries........................ 2,067 2,079 2,077 -0.6 0.1 -0.4 2,036 2,013 2,053 2,203 -7.6

 Fabricated metal products......................... 51,220 51,023 51,174 0.4 -0.3 -0.5 50,907 50,990 51,382 53,345 -4.6

 Machinery.............................................. 68,863 68,916 68,916 -0.1 0.0 -0.8 68,701 69,276 69,655 72,143 -4.8

 Farm machinery.................................. 3,719 3,642 3,645 2.1 -0.1 -0.8 3,600 3,507 3,526 3,843 -6.3

 Construction machinery......................... 5,938 5,927 5,994 0.2 -1.1 -1.1 5,967 6,007 6,030 6,455 -7.6

 Mining, oil field, 

 and gas field machinery.................... 4,610 4,680 4,727 -1.5 -1.0 -2.8 4,666 4,712 4,785 5,497 -15.1

 Industrial machinery............................. 9,846 9,786 9,760 0.6 0.3 -0.3 9,687 10,152 9,998 9,094 6.5

 Photographic equipment....................... 1,422 1,411 1,414 0.8 -0.2 -0.9 1,441 1,409 1,457 1,489 -3.2

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment............... 5,116 5,024 4,857 1.8 3.4 -2.3 4,924 4,836 4,875 5,579 -11.7

 Metalworking machinery........................ 5,720 5,723 5,790 -0.1 -1.2 -1.9 5,777 5,764 5,877 6,336 -8.8

 Turbines, generators, and other

 power transmission equipment............ 9,017 9,196 9,259 -1.9 -0.7 -0.4 9,057 9,186 9,450 9,762 -7.2

 Material handling equipment.................. 4,707 4,744 4,753 -0.8 -0.2 -0.9 4,811 4,893 4,843 5,297 -9.2

 Computers and electronic products2

............ 43,549 43,518 43,598 0.1 -0.2 -0.9 43,698 43,309 44,168 43,942 -0.6

 Computers......................................... 1,857 1,818 1,849 2.1 -1.7 0.0 1,825 1,895 1,938 1,776 2.8

 Computer storage devices.................... 959 978 972 -1.9 0.6 1.7 1,018 1,001 1,004 1,014 0.4

 Other peripheral equipment................... 1,053 1,054 1,044 -0.1 1.0 -0.6 1,040 1,026 1,063 1,033 0.7

 Nondefense communications

 equipment...................................... 4,609 4,652 4,597 -0.9 1.2 0.5 4,668 4,601 4,734 4,583 1.9

 Defense communications equipment........ 682 673 666 1.3 1.1 -0.6 682 673 666 666 2.4

 Audio and video equipment.................... 455 488 490 -6.8 -0.4 -5.2 497 536 520 665 -25.3

 Electronic components.......................... 7,317 7,363 7,445 -0.6 -1.1 -4.4 7,193 7,209 7,297 7,725 -6.9

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 2,924 2,934 2,937 -0.3 -0.1 0.2 2,980 2,942 2,977 2,928 1.8

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment....................................... 2,699 2,695 2,686 0.1 0.3 0.4 2,681 2,625 2,714 2,668 0.5

 Electromedical, measuring 

 and control instruments...................... 15,406 15,430 15,439 -0.2 -0.1 -0.2 15,494 15,336 15,718 15,148 2.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components.................................... 19,677 19,755 19,696 -0.4 0.3 -0.3 19,596 19,422 19,899 19,833 -1.2

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 2,007 2,005 2,002 0.1 0.1 -0.8 1,996 2,002 2,015 2,077 -3.9

 Household appliances........................... 2,400 2,462 2,353 -2.5 4.6 -0.4 2,437 2,422 2,435 2,750 -11.4

 Electrical equipment............................. 6,289 6,362 6,484 -1.1 -1.9 0.2 6,210 6,034 6,473 6,292 -1.3

 Batteries............................................ 1,879 1,852 1,830 1.5 1.2 -0.8 1,869 1,914 1,941 1,824 2.5

 Transportation equipment......................... 148,077 147,500 146,869 0.4 0.4 0.6 149,521 148,397 147,995 139,479 7.2

 Automobiles....................................... 5,491 5,376 5,571 2.1 -3.5 -1.9 5,636 5,500 5,690 6,116 -7.8

 Light trucks and utility vehicles.............. 5,087 4,796 5,082 6.1 -5.6 -0.9 5,289 4,982 5,260 5,624 -6.0

 Heavy duty trucks ............................... 2,016 1,984 1,962 1.6 1.1 6.8 1,963 1,905 1,936 1,907 2.9

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers...................................... 26,541 26,522 26,416 0.1 0.4 -0.3 26,544 26,528 26,559 26,753 -0.8

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 79,151 79,070 78,381 0.1 0.9 0.8 80,162 79,565 78,660 70,152 14.3

 Defense aircraft and parts..................... 12,446 12,436 12,431 0.1 0.0 0.8 12,462 12,418 12,456 12,160 2.5

 Ships and boats.................................. 4,293 4,362 4,253 -1.6 2.6 2.5 4,247 4,479 4,333 4,411 -3.7

 Furniture and related products.................... 7,137 7,161 7,107 -0.3 0.8 -0.2 7,082 7,101 7,190 7,448 -4.9

 Miscellaneous durable goods..................... 24,195 24,092 24,082 0.4 0.0 -0.2 24,409 24,189 24,388 23,824 2.5

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 264,798 264,665 266,106 0.1 -0.5 0.3 267,349 264,639 266,440 278,497 -4.0

 Food products........................................ 54,785 54,576 54,574 0.4 0.0 0.0 57,820 55,226 54,964 58,231 -0.7

 Grain and oilseed milling........................ 5,313 5,338 5,269 -0.5 1.3 -0.1 5,649 5,158 5,180 5,462 3.4

 Dairy products.................................... 8,589 8,490 8,467 1.2 0.3 -0.2 8,492 8,523 8,595 8,270 2.7

 Meat, poultry, and seafood products....... 9,354 9,306 9,302 0.5 0.0 1.0 9,549 9,327 9,386 10,181 -6.2

 Beverage and tobacco products................ 25,134 25,263 25,502 -0.5 -0.9 -0.7 25,482 25,077 24,863 26,164 -2.6

 Beverages......................................... 21,409 21,503 21,661 -0.4 -0.7 -0.6 21,675 21,464 21,297 21,998 -1.5

 Tobacco............................................ 3,725 3,760 3,841 -0.9 -2.1 -1.6 3,807 3,613 3,566 4,166 -8.6

 Textile mills............................................ 3,029 3,032 3,054 -0.1 -0.7 -0.2 3,025 3,043 3,074 3,210 -5.8

 Textile products...................................... 3,701 3,703 3,711 -0.1 -0.2 -0.7 3,687 3,717 3,713 3,949 -6.6

 Apparel................................................. 1,790 1,793 1,798 -0.2 -0.3 -1.3 1,846 1,845 1,896 1,925 -4.1

 Leather and allied products....................... 807 810 826 -0.4 -1.9 -2.1 797 809 832 858 -7.1

 Paper products....................................... 15,034 15,056 15,119 -0.1 -0.4 -0.3 14,830 15,027 15,224 15,061 -1.5

 Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills........... 5,458 5,497 5,574 -0.7 -1.4 -1.4 5,329 5,437 5,574 5,648 -5.6

 Paperboard containers......................... 5,409 5,405 5,417 0.1 -0.2 0.8 5,365 5,400 5,464 5,313 1.0

 Printing.................................................. 5,641 5,637 5,684 0.1 -0.8 0.2 5,772 5,686 5,703 5,803 -0.5

 Petroleum and coal products..................... 30,175 30,753 32,596 -1.9 -5.7 1.2 30,074 31,206 32,822 38,890 -22.7

 Petroleum refineries............................. 24,919 25,494 27,279 -2.3 -6.5 2.1 24,970 26,007 27,474 33,169 -24.7

 Chemical products..................................... 98,399 97,796 97,076 0.6 0.7 0.7 97,910 96,854 97,332 97,176 0.8

 Pesticides, fertilizers, and other

 agricultural chemicals........................ 5,687 5,593 5,513 1.7 1.5 0.7 5,389 5,194 5,252 5,285 2.0

 Pharmaceuticals and medicines.............. 46,911 46,540 46,068 0.8 1.0 1.0 47,047 46,456 46,383 45,012 4.5

 Paints, coatings, and adhesives.............. 3,853 3,835 3,857 0.5 -0.6 0.7 3,747 3,750 3,779 3,939 -4.9

 Plastics and rubber products..................... 26,303 26,246 26,166 0.2 0.3 -0.1 26,106 26,149 26,017 27,230 -4.1

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 noncalendar 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 4, 2020. 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. 2020/

2020p 2020r 2020 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2020p 2020r 2020 2019 2020p 2019 2019

SHIPMENTS

 All manufacturing industries......................... 488,600 483,743 481,216 1.0 0.5 0.3 501,929 502,538 491,215 516,737 4,702,406 5,041,761 -6.7

 Construction materials and supplies....... 53,353 52,798 52,270 1.1 1.0 0.7 56,371 55,370 55,742 55,829 521,154 527,637 -1.2

 Information technology......................... 26,182 25,327 25,002 3.4 1.3 0.9 25,675 28,518 24,721 23,319 242,603 236,732 2.5

 Computers and related products........... 1,910 1,807 1,875 5.7 -3.6 0.8 1,826 2,038 1,886 1,588 17,633 16,381 7.6

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 60,117 62,052 61,290 -3.1 1.2 -4.5 64,527 64,860 63,530 62,899 522,425 609,549 -14.3

 Capital goods...................................... 85,804 82,758 82,340 3.7 0.5 2.7 85,639 89,155 81,203 84,437 808,651 853,341 -5.2

 Nondefense capital goods3.................. 73,276 70,628 70,170 3.7 0.7 3.3 73,055 75,909 69,273 72,365 687,680 733,381 -6.2

 Excluding aircraft............................. 69,444 67,814 67,308 2.4 0.8 1.6 69,767 72,537 66,593 66,748 655,108 661,413 -1.0

 Defense capital goods4........................ 12,528 12,130 12,170 3.3 -0.3 -0.6 12,584 13,246 11,930 12,072 120,971 119,960 0.8

 Consumer goods.................................. 200,888 201,942 201,059 -0.5 0.4 -0.5 207,584 208,143 205,508 220,252 1,919,984 2,125,940 -9.7

 Consumer durable goods..................... 42,596 44,309 44,147 -3.9 0.4 -5.4 45,824 46,975 45,308 44,806 363,234 431,355 -15.8

 Consumer nondurable goods................ 158,292 157,633 156,912 0.4 0.5 1.0 161,760 161,168 160,200 175,446 1,556,750 1,694,585 -8.1

 All manufacturing industries5...................... 480,816 475,929 469,802 1.0 1.3 0.6 489,725 492,188 474,787 508,532 4,574,895 4,969,032 -7.9

 Construction materials and supplies....... 53,727 53,327 52,719 0.8 1.2 1.4 56,161 55,396 55,612 54,850 521,266 528,374 -1.3

 Information technology......................... 26,178 25,491 25,146 2.7 1.4 1.0 25,613 29,064 24,088 23,412 244,044 238,874 2.2

 Computers and related products........... 1,917 1,828 1,857 4.9 -1.6 0.4 1,833 2,059 1,868 1,615 17,488 16,363 6.9

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 60,107 62,106 61,432 -3.2 1.1 -4.1 63,952 65,041 63,754 62,077 521,954 607,093 -14.0

 Capital goods...................................... 83,255 80,998 76,601 2.8 5.7 5.5 81,229 85,686 72,575 83,806 736,827 831,417 -11.4

 Nondefense capital goods3.................. 70,512 70,641 63,333 -0.2 11.5 8.3 70,426 73,153 61,111 70,138 612,521 709,609 -13.7

 Excluding aircraft............................. 70,064 69,507 68,184 0.8 1.9 2.4 70,407 73,718 66,222 66,694 662,530 661,265 0.2

 Defense capital goods4........................ 12,743 10,357 13,268 23.0 -21.9 -6.0 10,803 12,533 11,464 13,668 124,306 121,808 2.1

 Consumer goods.................................. 200,838 201,991 201,259 -0.6 0.4 -0.5 207,611 208,396 205,624 220,330 1,921,065 2,126,392 -9.7

 Consumer durable goods..................... 42,546 44,358 44,347 -4.1 0.0 -5.4 45,851 47,228 45,424 44,884 364,315 431,807 -15.6

 Consumer nondurable goods.............. 158,292 157,633 156,912 0.4 0.5 1.0 161,760 161,168 160,200 175,446 1,556,750 1,694,585 -8.1

 All manufacturing industries5...................... 1,073,292 1,075,902 1,078,431 -0.2 -0.2 -0.6 1,064,235 1,070,616 1,074,998 1,140,226 (X) (X) -6.7

 Construction materials and supplies....... 51,920 51,546 51,017 0.7 1.0 0.9 51,229 51,439 51,413 52,432 (X) (X) -2.3

 Information technology......................... 114,990 114,994 114,830 0.0 0.1 0.1 114,651 114,713 114,167 113,845 (X) (X) 0.7

 Computers and related products........... 1,863 1,856 1,835 0.4 1.1 -1.0 1,863 1,856 1,835 1,973 (X) (X) -5.6

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 21,207 21,217 21,163 0.0 0.3 0.7 20,277 20,852 20,671 19,447 (X) (X) 4.3

 Capital goods...................................... 770,992 773,541 775,301 -0.3 -0.2 -0.7 766,449 770,859 774,328 844,094 (X) (X) -9.2

 Nondefense capital goods3.................. 591,284 594,048 594,035 -0.5 0.0 -1.1 589,505 592,134 594,890 676,526 (X) (X) -12.9

 Excluding aircraft............................. 220,629 220,009 218,316 0.3 0.8 0.4 219,556 218,916 217,735 213,267 (X) (X) 2.9

 Defense capital goods4........................ 179,708 179,493 181,266 0.1 -1.0 0.6 176,944 178,725 179,438 167,568 (X) (X) 5.6

 Consumer goods.................................. 5,619 5,669 5,620 -0.9 0.9 3.7 5,771 5,744 5,491 4,671 (X) (X) 23.5

 Consumer durable goods..................... 5,619 5,669 5,620 -0.9 0.9 3.7 5,771 5,744 5,491 4,671 (X) (X) 23.5 

 All manufacturing industries....................... 687,258 686,099 686,479 0.2 -0.1 0.0 690,258 686,179 689,884 699,686 (X) (X) -1.3

 Construction materials and supplies....... 69,204 68,697 68,576 0.7 0.2 -0.4 68,256 68,145 68,464 71,297 (X) (X) -4.3

 Information technology......................... 39,321 39,357 39,269 -0.1 0.2 -0.1 39,565 39,244 39,974 39,019 (X) (X) 1.4

 Computers and related products........... 3,869 3,850 3,865 0.5 -0.4 0.3 3,883 3,922 4,005 3,823 (X) (X) 1.6

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 39,135 38,678 39,031 1.2 -0.9 -0.3 39,432 38,915 39,445 40,400 (X) (X) -2.4

 Capital goods...................................... 214,967 215,026 214,291 0.0 0.3 0.2 216,279 215,619 216,468 208,653 (X) (X) 3.7

 Nondefense capital goods3.................. 193,514 193,515 193,031 0.0 0.3 0.1 194,897 194,064 195,124 187,363 (X) (X) 4.0

 Excluding aircraft............................. 127,002 127,130 127,349 -0.1 -0.2 -0.3 127,177 127,218 129,012 128,853 (X) (X) -1.3

 Defense capital goods4........................ 21,453 21,511 21,260 -0.3 1.2 0.9 21,382 21,555 21,344 21,290 (X) (X) 0.4

 Consumer goods.................................. 201,291 201,042 203,023 0.1 -1.0 0.1 205,357 202,397 204,107 215,431 (X) (X) -4.7

 Consumer durable goods..................... 30,960 30,575 30,857 1.3 -0.9 -0.8 31,528 30,934 31,460 33,161 (X) (X) -4.9

 Consumer nondurable goods................ 170,331 170,467 172,166 -0.1 -1.0 0.3 173,829 171,463 172,647 182,270 (X) (X) -4.6

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 noncalendar 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 4, 2020. 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. 2020/

2020p 2020r 2020 Oct. Sep. Aug. 2020p 2020r 2020 2019 2019

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

 All manufacturing industries....................... 235,081 234,404 236,195 0.3 -0.8 -0.3 235,636 234,549 236,618 238,175 -1.1

 Durable goods industries.......................... 144,703 143,854 144,807 0.6 -0.7 -0.5 145,000 144,792 145,869 145,444 -0.3

 Wood products................................... 5,582 5,416 5,403 3.1 0.2 1.1 5,666 5,486 5,428 5,443 4.1

 Nonmetallic mineral products................. 5,661 5,707 5,742 -0.8 -0.6 -1.0 5,622 5,696 5,748 5,651 -0.5

 Primary metals.................................... 12,300 12,259 12,565 0.3 -2.4 0.9 12,389 12,331 12,624 13,215 -6.3

 Fabricated metal products.......................... 19,078 18,952 19,133 0.7 -0.9 -0.7 19,100 19,237 19,328 20,187 -5.4

 Machinery.......................................... 27,077 27,114 27,357 -0.1 -0.9 -0.9 27,096 27,374 27,600 28,436 -4.7

 Computers and electronic products........ 19,900 19,843 19,967 0.3 -0.6 0.5 20,035 19,837 20,115 19,507 2.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................... 8,741 8,773 8,742 -0.4 0.4 -1.0 8,691 8,616 8,818 8,429 3.1

 Transportation equipment..................... 34,796 34,313 34,462 1.4 -0.4 -1.1 34,841 34,729 34,590 33,233 4.8

 Furniture and related products............... 3,482 3,472 3,445 0.3 0.8 -0.9 3,467 3,447 3,476 3,556 -2.5

 Miscellaneous products......................... 8,086 8,005 7,991 1.0 0.2 -0.2 8,093 8,039 8,142 7,787 3.9

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 90,378 90,550 91,388 -0.2 -0.9 0.0 90,636 89,757 90,749 92,731 -2.3

 Food products.................................... 19,464 19,618 19,745 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 20,294 19,447 19,519 20,513 -1.1

 Beverage and tobacco products........................ 5,525 5,594 5,663 -1.2 -1.2 -1.8 5,581 5,463 5,371 5,937 -6.0

 Textiles.............................................. 1,127 1,125 1,131 0.2 -0.5 -0.9 1,115 1,125 1,143 1,159 -3.8

 Textile products................................... 1,195 1,189 1,185 0.5 0.3 -0.6 1,182 1,193 1,188 1,223 -3.4

 Apparel............................................. 557 556 554 0.2 0.4 -0.4 565 559 567 568 -0.5

 Leather and allied products.................... 271 273 279 -0.7 -2.2 0.0 267 275 284 275 -2.9

 Paper products.................................... 7,604 7,605 7,600 0.0 0.1 0.0 7,522 7,629 7,640 7,516 0.1

 Printing ............................................. 2,654 2,668 2,692 -0.5 -0.9 -0.2 2,679 2,687 2,701 2,720 -1.5

 Petroleum and coal products................. 9,433 9,611 10,598 -1.9 -9.3 3.0 9,141 9,493 10,387 10,801 -15.4

 Chemical products................................ 31,903 31,637 31,157 0.8 1.5 -0.2 31,678 31,194 31,187 31,361 1.0

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 10,645 10,674 10,784 -0.3 -1.0 -0.3 10,612 10,692 10,762 10,658 -0.4

WORK IN PROCESS

 All manufacturing industries....................... 207,532 208,438 206,401 -0.4 1.0 0.5 209,257 208,031 207,151 205,648 1.8

 Durable goods industries.......................... 161,900 162,145 159,587 -0.2 1.6 0.6 162,472 162,027 160,785 153,658 5.7

 Wood products................................... 1,986 1,986 1,978 0.0 0.4 -0.1 1,972 1,954 1,964 1,707 15.5

 Nonmetallic mineral products................. 1,399 1,393 1,384 0.4 0.7 0.9 1,335 1,363 1,368 1,383 -3.5

 Primary metals.................................... 9,527 9,329 8,984 2.1 3.8 1.4 9,486 9,250 9,130 10,247 -7.4

 Fabricated metal products.......................... 12,759 12,773 12,823 -0.1 -0.4 -0.8 12,792 12,774 12,862 13,721 -6.8

 Machinery.......................................... 19,617 19,688 19,337 -0.4 1.8 -0.2 19,678 19,916 19,872 19,691 -0.1

 Computers and electronic products........ 12,496 12,432 12,316 0.5 0.9 -2.1 12,252 12,099 12,310 12,193 0.5

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................... 4,186 4,203 4,197 -0.4 0.1 0.6 4,139 4,115 4,235 4,105 0.8

 Transportation equipment..................... 94,938 95,361 93,663 -0.4 1.8 1.3 95,800 95,569 94,072 85,713 11.8

 Furniture and related products............... 1,156 1,167 1,110 -0.9 5.1 -0.8 1,135 1,162 1,117 1,157 -1.9

 Miscellaneous products......................... 3,836 3,813 3,795 0.6 0.5 -0.7 3,883 3,825 3,855 3,741 3.8

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 45,632 46,293 46,814 -1.4 -1.1 0.1 46,785 46,004 46,366 51,990 -10.0

 Food products.................................... 4,645 4,848 4,956 -4.2 -2.2 1.2 5,346 4,549 4,543 5,141 4.0

 Beverage and tobacco products........................ 8,841 8,943 9,060 -1.1 -1.3 -0.8 9,059 8,880 8,645 9,520 -4.8

 Textiles.............................................. 579 579 574 0.0 0.9 -2.7 584 587 582 633 -7.7

 Textile products................................... 328 330 332 -0.6 -0.6 -0.6 330 335 332 381 -13.4

 Apparel............................................. 288 289 289 -0.3 0.0 -0.3 292 295 302 327 -10.7

 Leather and allied products.................... 85 84 83 1.2 1.2 -5.7 85 85 85 97 -12.4

 Paper products.................................... 1,436 1,404 1,411 2.3 -0.5 0.4 1,428 1,406 1,444 1,434 -0.4

 Printing ............................................. 1,230 1,217 1,230 1.1 -1.1 1.8 1,308 1,257 1,248 1,270 3.0

 Petroleum and coal products................. 6,353 6,550 6,943 -3.0 -5.7 -2.1 6,515 6,737 7,204 10,624 -38.7

 Chemical products................................ 18,708 18,893 18,892 -1.0 0.0 1.0 18,680 18,712 18,951 19,449 -4.0

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 3,139 3,156 3,044 -0.5 3.7 0.7 3,158 3,161 3,030 3,114 1.4

FINISHED GOODS

 All manufacturing industries....................... 244,645 243,257 243,883 0.6 -0.3 -0.1 245,365 243,599 246,115 255,863 -4.1

 Durable goods industries.......................... 115,857 115,435 115,979 0.4 -0.5 -0.7 115,437 114,721 116,790 122,087 -5.4

 Wood products................................... 4,573 4,514 4,399 1.3 2.6 1.9 4,445 4,220 4,201 4,720 -5.8

 Nonmetallic mineral products................. 6,917 6,909 6,905 0.1 0.1 -0.7 6,669 6,757 6,848 7,164 -6.9

 Primary metals.................................... 11,797 11,956 11,571 -1.3 3.3 -3.5 11,411 11,799 11,456 11,645 -2.0

 Fabricated metal products.......................... 19,383 19,298 19,218 0.4 0.4 -0.1 19,015 18,979 19,192 19,437 -2.2

 Machinery.......................................... 22,169 22,114 22,222 0.2 -0.5 -1.3 21,927 21,986 22,183 24,016 -8.7

 Computers and electronic products........ 11,153 11,243 11,315 -0.8 -0.6 -1.9 11,411 11,373 11,743 12,242 -6.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................... 6,750 6,779 6,757 -0.4 0.3 0.2 6,766 6,691 6,846 7,299 -7.3

 Transportation equipment..................... 18,343 17,826 18,744 2.9 -4.9 0.2 18,880 18,099 19,333 20,533 -8.1

 Furniture and related products............... 2,499 2,522 2,552 -0.9 -1.2 1.1 2,480 2,492 2,597 2,735 -9.3

 Miscellaneous products......................... 12,273 12,274 12,296 0.0 -0.2 0.0 12,433 12,325 12,391 12,296 1.1

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 128,788 127,822 127,904 0.8 -0.1 0.5 129,928 128,878 129,325 133,776 -2.9

 Food products.................................... 30,676 30,110 29,873 1.9 0.8 0.0 32,180 31,230 30,902 32,577 -1.2

 Beverage and tobacco products........................ 10,768 10,726 10,779 0.4 -0.5 0.0 10,842 10,734 10,847 10,707 1.3

 Textiles.............................................. 1,323 1,328 1,349 -0.4 -1.6 1.4 1,326 1,331 1,349 1,418 -6.5

 Textile products................................... 2,178 2,184 2,194 -0.3 -0.5 -0.8 2,175 2,189 2,193 2,345 -7.2

 Apparel............................................. 945 948 955 -0.3 -0.7 -2.1 989 991 1,027 1,030 -4.0

 Leather and allied products.................... 451 453 464 -0.4 -2.4 -2.7 445 449 463 486 -8.4

 Paper products.................................... 5,994 6,047 6,108 -0.9 -1.0 -0.8 5,880 5,992 6,140 6,111 -3.8

 Printing ............................................. 1,757 1,752 1,762 0.3 -0.6 -0.3 1,785 1,742 1,754 1,813 -1.5

 Petroleum and coal products................. 14,389 14,592 15,055 -1.4 -3.1 1.5 14,418 14,976 15,231 17,465 -17.4

 Chemical products................................ 47,788 47,266 47,027 1.1 0.5 1.2 47,552 46,948 47,194 46,366 2.6

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 12,519 12,416 12,338 0.8 0.6 -0.3 12,336 12,296 12,225 13,458 -8.3

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 noncalendar 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 4, 2020. 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

2020p 2020r 2020 2020 2020p 2020r 2020 2020

All manufacturing industries3

.................................... 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.43 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Durable goods industries3

........................................ 1.70 1.72 1.72 1.72 6.38 6.57 6.60 6.69

 Wood products........................................................... 1.19 1.19 1.21 1.23 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Nonmetallic mineral products............................. 1.17 1.19 1.20 1.20 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Primary metals............................................................ 1.79 1.83 1.80 1.84 1.73 1.73 1.68 1.69

 Fabricated metal products...................................... 1.66 1.69 1.70 1.70 2.52 2.54 2.52 2.50

 Machinery..................................................................... 2.19 2.22 2.21 2.27 3.49 3.53 3.49 3.53

 Computers and electronic products3

................... 1.40 1.43 1.46 1.48 5.00 5.15 5.22 5.28

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components.................................................... 1.79 1.87 1.86 1.86 2.17 2.28 2.25 2.22

 Transportation equipment..................................... 1.81 1.80 1.80 1.76 14.19 14.85 14.91 15.28

 Furniture and related products............................ 1.08 1.10 1.08 1.07 1.38 1.39 1.38 1.35

 Miscellaneous products.......................................... 1.59 1.62 1.63 1.65 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Nondurable goods industries................................... 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 (X) (X) (X) (X)

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

 Beverage and tobacco products........................... 1.87 1.83 1.89 1.93 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Textiles.......................................................................... 1.37 1.38 1.41 1.45 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Textile products......................................................... 2.01 1.97 2.02 2.12 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Apparel........................................................................ 2.06 2.04 2.14 2.09 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Leather and allied products................................ 1.86 1.85 1.89 2.02 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Paper products.......................................................... 0.90 0.92 0.92 0.93 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Printing........................................................................ 0.80 0.81 0.83 0.81 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Petroleum and coal products............................... 0.76 0.78 0.82 0.85 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Chemical products................................................... 1.42 1.43 1.42 1.42 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Plastics and rubber products................................ 1.32 1.32 1.32 1.34 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Oct3 Oct3 Oct3 Oct3

Industry 2019- 2019- 2019- 2019-

Oct2 Sep Oct2 Sep Oct2 Sep Oct2 Sep

2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020

All manufacturing industries.................. (X) 0.2 (X) 0.3 (X) 0.1 (X) 0.1

Durable goods industries....................... 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.6 0.1 0.1 -0.1 0.1

 Wood products............................................ (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Nonmetallic mineral products.............. (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Primary metals............................................. -0.2 0.4 0.0 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.2

 Fabricated metal products.................... 0.0 0.7 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.2 -0.2 0.2

 Machinery...................................................... 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2

 Computers and electronic products..... 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.1 -0.1 0.2

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components..................................... 0.6 0.4 -0.1 0.5 -0.4 0.2 -0.2 0.2

 Transportation equipment.................... 0.1 0.3 0.2 1.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1

 Furniture and related products............. (X) 0.6 (X) 0.9 (X) 0.4 (X) 0.3

 Miscellaneous products.......................... (X) 0.3 (X) 0.3 (X) 0.1 (X) 0.1

Nondurable goods industries................... (X) 0.2 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.1

 Food products.............................................. (X) 0.2 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.1

 Beverage and tobacco products............ (X) 0.6 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.4

 Textiles.......................................................... (X) 0.7 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Textile products......................................... (X) 0.7 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Apparel......................................................... (X) 0.7 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.4

 Leather and allied products.................. (X) 1.1 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Paper products............................................ (X) 0.4 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Printing.......................................................... (X) 0.6 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Petroleum and coal products............... (X) 0.5 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.6

 Chemical products................................... (X) 0.2 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.1

 Plastics and rubber products................ (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

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 4, 2020. 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 4, 2020. 

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