FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (13)-12 

CB14-15

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

December 2013 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

December decreased $10.3 billion or 4.3 percent to 

$229.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

today. This decrease, down two of the last three months, 

followed a 2.6 percent November increase. Excluding 

transportation, new orders decreased 1.6 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 3.7 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down two of the last 

three months, led the decrease, $7.7 billion or 9.5 

percent to $73.1 billion. This was led by nondefense 

aircraft and parts, which decreased $3.8 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

December, down following four consecutive monthly 

increases, decreased $4.5 billion or 1.9 percent to $232.8 

billion. This followed a 1.3 percent November increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also down following four 

consecutive monthly increases, led the decrease, $4.1 

billion or 5.7 percent to $68.3 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

December, up ten of the last eleven months, increased 

$3.9 billion or 0.4 percent to $1,061.5 billion. This was 

at the highest level since the series was first published on 

a NAICS basis in 1992, and followed a 0.9 percent 

November increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up four consecutive months, 

drove the increase, $4.8 billion or 0.7 percent to $659.1 

billion.

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

December, up eight of the last nine months, increased 

$3.0 billion or 0.8 percent to $387.8 billion. This was at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis, and followed a 0.3 percent November 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up nineteen of the last 

twenty months, led the increase, $1.3 billion or 1.1 

percent to $122.1 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in December 

decreased $4.3 billion or 5.0 percent to $82.5 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.6 billion or 0.8 percent to $75.4 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $7.1 billion or 1.1 

percent to $642.7 billion. Inventories increased $1.2 

billion or 0.7 percent to $176.7 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in December 

decreased $1.9 billion or 21.5 percent to $6.8 billion. 

Shipments decreased $1.3 billion or 11.5 percent to $9.6 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $2.8 billion or 1.7 

percent to $161.9 billion. Inventories increased $0.5 

billion or 2.1 percent to $22.9 billion. 

Revised November Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted November figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $495.9 

billion (revised from $497.9 billion); shipments, $493.6 

billion (revised from $494.6 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,057.6 billion (revised from $1,058.5 billion); and 

total inventories $633.8 billion (revised from $633.4 

billion). 

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

manufacturing. For data, call (301) 763-4673 or go to <http://www.census.gov/m3>. Revised and more detailed estimates, plus 

nondurable goods data, will be published on February 4, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The Advance Report on durable goods for January is 

scheduled for release on February 27, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. EST. See back page for survey description. To receive the latest updates on the 

Nation's key economic indicators, download the America's Economy app for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. Discover the U.S. Census Bureau’s economic statistics through the Economic Indicator Webinar Series. Each of the 13 economic indicators in this 

webinar series will provide an in-depth description of how the critical economic indicator data are collected and how you can access and 

use these statistics. Sessions include construction, housing, international trade, retail trade and more. For more information go to 

www.census.gov/econ/webinar. 
 2

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item Percent

Dec Nov Oct Nov - Oct - Sep - Dec Nov Dec Change

2013 2 2013 r 2013 Dec 2 Nov r Oct 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2013 2012 2013/2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 232,801 237,347 234,238 -1.9 1.3 0.6 228,070 228,512 221,534 2,761,834 2,671,564 3.4

 New Orders4

.............................. 229,319 239,633 233,565 -4.3 2.6 -0.7 242,749 228,531 241,119 2,747,453 2,619,731 4.9

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 164,507 164,925 162,932 -0.3 1.2 0.2 159,928 157,365 155,570 1,939,179 1,907,606 1.7

 New Orders4

.............................. 156,191 158,807 158,663 -1.6 0.1 0.7 153,150 149,098 148,688 1,878,032 1,814,049 3.5

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 221,285 224,180 222,184 -1.3 0.9 0.8 215,480 215,063 207,348 2,616,038 2,524,435 3.6

 New Orders4

.............................. 220,668 229,160 223,059 -3.7 2.7 0.2 228,152 219,829 213,037 2,620,420 2,461,403 6.5

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 162,036 164,205 164,004 -1.3 0.1 0.5 162,285 157,980 160,210 1,933,898 1,901,358 1.7

 New Orders.............................. 165,959 173,775 169,962 -4.5 2.2 -1.4 183,236 165,345 186,323 2,002,923 1,937,248 3.4

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 26,299 26,266 26,232 0.1 0.1 1.2 23,524 24,484 22,626 304,351 302,427 0.6

 New Orders.............................. 26,063 26,619 26,787 -2.1 -0.6 1.6 24,007 25,073 22,781 308,246 296,597 3.9

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 28,906 29,133 29,085 -0.8 0.2 0.6 26,467 27,661 25,751 346,923 342,323 1.3

 New Orders.............................. 27,352 28,144 28,979 -2.8 -2.9 -1.6 25,070 25,941 27,608 351,783 347,672 1.2

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 35,163 35,306 34,073 -0.4 3.6 0.3 35,479 32,984 34,623 411,018 399,283 2.9

 New Orders.............................. 36,018 35,719 34,662 0.8 3.0 0.9 35,648 32,865 31,421 416,748 386,627 7.8

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,997 27,933 27,436 0.2 1.8 -1.8 30,590 27,449 31,212 332,022 343,142 -3.2

 New Orders.............................. 20,313 22,039 22,023 -7.8 0.1 2.4 24,925 20,504 26,584 255,321 262,666 -2.8

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,179 2,292 2,216 -4.9 3.4 -9.8 3,343 2,045 3,926 27,508 29,911 -8.0

 New Orders.............................. 2,133 2,311 2,240 -7.7 3.2 -8.4 3,297 2,064 3,844 27,610 30,395 -9.2

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,738 3,701 3,961 1.0 -6.6 -1.3 4,554 3,629 4,704 47,164 45,530 3.6

 New Orders.............................. 4,357 4,639 4,228 -6.1 9.7 0.4 5,338 4,001 5,549 52,260 49,421 5.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,292 10,365 10,386 -0.7 -0.2 3.2 9,918 10,142 9,843 123,183 123,293 -0.1

 New Orders.............................. 10,467 10,183 10,589 2.8 -3.8 4.8 9,879 9,891 9,403 124,092 123,234 0.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 68,294 72,422 71,306 -5.7 1.6 1.6 68,142 71,147 65,964 822,655 763,958 7.7

 New Orders.............................. 73,128 80,826 74,902 -9.5 7.9 -3.5 89,599 79,433 92,431 869,421 805,682 7.9

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 45,337 48,185 47,227 -5.9 2.0 2.5 40,108 46,961 37,369 541,757 492,154 10.1

 New Orders.............................. 45,268 48,057 46,989 -5.8 2.3 2.3 40,506 47,102 37,761 541,381 491,062 10.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 11,695 11,192 12,200 4.5 -8.3 1.8 15,935 11,106 15,009 136,502 126,677 7.8

 New Orders.............................. 18,039 21,868 18,061 -17.5 21.1 -5.3 34,480 23,002 28,631 200,722 160,725 24.9

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 3,960 5,539 4,767 -28.5 16.2 -1.4 4,577 5,668 6,051 56,433 57,611 -2.0

 New Orders.............................. 3,667 4,210 3,638 -12.9 15.7 -28.4 6,545 3,413 10,729 48,959 64,448 -24.0

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 35,850 35,922 35,720 -0.2 0.6 -0.4 33,950 34,645 31,515 421,682 397,138 6.2

 New Orders.............................. 35,978 36,103 35,623 -0.3 1.3 -0.4 33,621 34,824 30,891 421,842 397,253 6.2

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 85,037 85,654 83,952 -0.7 2.0 -0.2 93,476 82,335 91,586 1,003,280 983,028 2.1

 New Orders.............................. 89,315 95,498 89,148 -6.5 7.1 -2.6 111,947 90,598 114,498 1,066,447 1,018,299 4.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 75,438 74,805 74,134 0.8 0.9 -0.1 83,190 71,231 80,342 884,838 865,252 2.3

 New Orders.............................. 82,517 86,834 80,524 -5.0 7.8 -0.8 100,678 83,340 89,920 964,693 891,037 8.3

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 66,929 67,067 65,590 -0.2 2.3 -0.2 70,887 63,668 69,328 789,327 777,887 1.5

 New Orders.......................... 67,586 68,497 66,790 -1.3 2.6 -0.6 70,681 63,839 67,043 809,388 775,671 4.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,599 10,849 9,818 -11.5 10.5 -1.5 10,286 11,104 11,244 118,442 117,776 0.6

 New Orders.............................. 6,798 8,664 8,624 -21.5 0.5 -16.5 11,269 7,258 24,578 101,754 127,262 -20.0

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 equipmen

4 Estimates of shipments for the semiconductor industry are no longer shown separately. Estimates and percent changes of shipments and inventories for the semiconductor industry are included 

 in computers and electronic products, and all other applicable aggregate totals. Estimates and percent changes for new orders and unfilled orders exclude semiconductor industry data. 
 3

Table 2. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders and Total Inventories 1

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

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item Change

Dec Nov Oct Nov - Oct - Sep - Dec Nov Dec 2013/

2013 2 2013 r 2013 Dec 2 Nov r Oct 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,061,530 1,057,607 1,048,037 0.4 0.9 0.6 1,059,889 1,038,938 990,864 7.0

 Total Inventories....................... 387,758 384,721 383,463 0.8 0.3 0.3 377,513 385,381 363,832 3.8

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 402,397 403,308 402,142 -0.2 0.3 0.6 393,594 394,100 371,335 6.0

 Total Inventories....................... 265,663 263,939 263,187 0.7 0.3 0.0 259,106 264,209 255,620 1.4

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 869,700 862,912 850,648 0.8 1.4 0.9 868,298 849,354 780,510 11.2

 Total Inventories....................... 359,647 357,130 355,404 0.7 0.5 0.3 349,578 357,708 337,261 3.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,061,530 1,057,607 1,048,037 0.4 0.9 0.6 1,059,889 1,038,938 990,864 7.0

 Total Inventories....................... 317,683 314,967 314,364 0.9 0.2 0.4 308,864 315,143 295,920 4.4

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 36,642 36,878 36,525 -0.6 1.0 1.5 36,022 35,539 32,127 12.1

 Total Inventories....................... 35,282 34,971 34,937 0.9 0.1 -1.0 34,902 34,515 36,066 -3.2

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 88,039 89,593 90,582 -1.7 -1.1 -0.1 83,812 85,209 78,952 6.2

 Total Inventories....................... 48,169 47,921 47,741 0.5 0.4 0.2 47,249 47,524 46,275 2.1

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 109,608 108,753 108,340 0.8 0.4 0.5 107,520 107,351 101,790 5.6

 Total Inventories....................... 66,348 66,044 66,190 0.5 -0.2 -0.2 63,875 66,561 64,057 -0.3

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 138,108 138,387 136,997 -0.2 1.0 0.9 137,367 136,760 130,662 5.1

 Total Inventories....................... 47,630 47,056 46,655 1.2 0.9 -0.4 46,403 47,759 44,765 3.7

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,329 3,375 3,356 -1.4 0.6 0.7 3,329 3,375 3,227 3.2

 Total Inventories....................... 4,682 4,575 4,467 2.3 2.4 0.4 4,345 4,824 3,998 8.7

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 35,789 35,170 34,232 1.8 2.7 0.8 35,526 34,742 30,430 16.7

 Total Inventories....................... 7,807 7,561 7,443 3.3 1.6 -1.6 7,661 7,768 7,346 4.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 22,500 22,325 22,507 0.8 -0.8 0.9 21,883 21,922 20,974 4.3

 Total Inventories....................... 16,884 16,981 17,058 -0.6 -0.5 1.9 16,197 16,905 15,813 2.4

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 659,133 654,299 645,895 0.7 1.3 0.6 666,295 644,838 619,529 7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 122,095 120,782 120,276 1.1 0.4 1.1 118,407 121,172 108,212 9.4

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,213 16,282 16,410 -0.4 -0.8 -1.4 16,409 16,011 16,785 -2.2

 Total Inventories....................... 25,158 25,203 25,443 -0.2 -0.9 -0.1 24,539 25,608 25,229 -2.7

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 488,831 482,487 471,811 1.3 2.3 1.3 495,576 477,031 431,356 14.9

 Total Inventories....................... 68,493 67,538 66,267 1.4 1.9 1.7 65,760 67,410 55,536 18.4

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 64,373 64,666 65,995 -0.5 -2.0 -1.7 64,885 62,917 72,359 -10.3

 Total Inventories....................... 13,267 12,970 13,381 2.3 -3.1 -0.5 13,118 12,996 13,166 -0.4

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,500 7,372 7,191 1.7 2.5 -1.3 6,990 7,319 6,830 2.3

 Total Inventories....................... 51,350 50,966 50,606 0.8 0.7 0.3 50,480 50,945 48,644 3.8

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 804,577 800,299 790,455 0.5 1.2 0.7 804,381 785,910 741,214 8.5

 Total Inventories....................... 199,614 197,942 197,385 0.8 0.3 0.6 192,855 199,429 182,232 5.8

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 642,679 635,600 623,571 1.1 1.9 1.0 643,126 625,638 563,271 14.2

 Total Inventories....................... 176,729 175,531 174,401 0.7 0.6 0.7 169,997 176,962 160,704 5.8

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 233,933 233,276 231,846 0.3 0.6 0.5 227,900 228,106 207,839 9.7

 Total Inventories................... 120,412 120,005 119,875 0.3 0.1 0.1 116,411 121,608 116,151 0.2

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 161,898 164,699 166,884 -1.7 -1.3 -0.7 161,255 160,272 177,943 -9.4

 Total Inventories....................... 22,885 22,411 22,984 2.1 -2.5 -0.1 22,858 22,467 21,528 6.2

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
4 

Survey Description 

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

and Orders (M3) survey. This survey provides statistics on manufacturers' value of shipments, new 

orders (net of cancellations), end-of-month order backlog (unfilled orders), end-of-month total inventory 

(at current cost or market value), and inventories by stage of fabrication (materials and supplies, work-inprocess, and finished goods). The M3 includes approximately 4,300 reporting units. Units may be 

divisions of diversified large companies, large homogenous companies, or single-unit manufacturers in 89 

industry categories. Due to the small monthly sample, these 89 categories have been combined into 65 

publication levels. The survey methodology assumes that the month-to-month changes of the total 

operations of those companies in the monthly survey effectively represent the month-to-month 

movements of all establishments that make up the category. The current coverage levels in the survey 

show that reported data in the monthly survey represent approximately 60 percent of the shipments 

estimates at the total manufacturing level. Data published represent manufacturing in a calendar month. 

The data collection is based on a voluntary survey authorized by Title 13 of the United States Code. 

The data presented in this release are based on data obtained from a panel of 4,300 reporting units and 

provide an indication of the activity within the manufacturing sector. The results differ from what would 

be obtained from a complete enumeration of all manufacturing companies. In addition, a different panel 

of 4,300 companies would yield different results. The M3 panel is comprised of companies with $500 

million or more in shipments and a limited number of smaller companies. From a statistical perspective, 

the panel is not a probability sample; therefore, the sampling errors that are normally provided with 

sample surveys cannot be measured. Nonsampling errors are attributable to many sources. The use of 

company or divisional reports to estimate the monthly change for establishments is one source of 

nonsampling error. The use of primarily large companies to represent the month-to-month movement of 

all companies is another potential source. Any corrections will be published in the full report. 

Corrections received after the full report will be released in the next month’s advance report. Any 

revisions made later than two months will be reflected in the annual benchmark publication. 

Additional survey documentation can be found on our web site: http://www.census.gov/m3. 

 Notice of Revisions Due to Updated Seasonal Adjustment Models 

On May 15, 2014, monthly seasonally adjusted data for Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders, 

based on the North American Industry Classification System, will be revised for January 1992 through 

March 2014. There will be no accompanying press release containing revised seasonally adjusted data for 

January through March of 2014, and historical data not seasonally adjusted will be unchanged. These 

revisions to the historical seasonally adjusted data will be based on the results of the recent annual review of 

the seasonal adjustment models. These updated models will also be used to produce seasonally adjusted data 

from the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey, beginning with the April 2014 Advance 

Report on Durable Goods scheduled for release on May 27, 2014 and the full report scheduled for release on 

June 3, 2014. 

Please call Chris Savage on (301) 763-4832 with any questions regarding this notice.