FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (12)-1 

CB12-35

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

January 2012 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in January 

decreased $8.6 billion or 4.0 percent to $206.1 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

decrease, down following three consecutive monthly 

increases, followed a 3.2 percent December increase. 

Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 3.2 

percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 4.5 

percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, 

$3.6 billion or 6.1 percent to $55.2 billion. This was due 

to nondefense aircraft and parts, which decreased $3.8 

billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in January, 

up two consecutive months, increased $0.8 billion or 0.4 

percent to $207.8 billion. This followed a 1.9 percent 

December increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up two consecutive 

months, had the largest increase, $2.6 billion or 5.4 

percent to $50.3 billion. This followed a 1.0 percent 

December increase. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

January, up twenty-one of the last twenty-two months, 

increased $4.8 billion or 0.5 percent to $917.1 billion. 

This followed a 1.5 percent December increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up twelve of the last 

thirteen months, had the largest increase, $4.9 billion or 

0.9 percent to $535.1 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in January, 

up twenty-five consecutive months, increased $2.6 

billion or 0.7 percent to $372.5 billion. This was at the 

highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.3 percent 

December increase. 

 Machinery, up twenty-two consecutive months, had 

the largest increase, $0.9 billion or 1.4 percent to $61.4 

billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in January 

decreased $5.4 billion or 6.3 percent to $79.5 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.6 billion or 0.9 percent to $70.9 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $8.6 billion or 1.6 

percent to $554.4 billion. Inventories increased $1.7 

billion or 1.0 percent to $172.0 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in January 

increased $0.9 billion or 17.7 percent to $5.9 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.3 billion or 3.5 percent to $7.4 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $1.4 billion or 1.0 

percent to $147.2 billion. Inventories increased $0.1 

billion or 0.6 percent to $20.2 billion. 

Revised December Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted December figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $466.5 

billion (revised from $466.2 billion); shipments, $458.9 

billion (revised from $459.4 billion); unfilled orders, 

$912.4 billion (revised from $911.5 billion); and total 

inventories, $610.6 billion (revised from $610.1 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 March 5, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The advance report on durable goods for February is scheduled for release on March 28, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. See back page for 

survey description. 
 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

Jan Dec Nov Dec - Nov - Oct - Jan Dec Jan Change

2012 2 2011 r 2011 Jan 2 Dec r Nov 2012 2 2011 r 2011 2012 2011 12/11

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 207,820 207,036 203,104 0.4 1.9 -0.2 187,881 203,645 170,886 187,881 170,886 9.9

 New Orders4

.............................. 206,090 214,670 208,012 -4.0 3.2 4.2 190,821 225,554 175,397 190,821 175,397 8.8

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 157,518 159,305 155,861 -1.1 2.2 0.5 144,577 154,536 132,441 144,577 132,441 9.2

 New Orders4

.............................. 150,852 155,813 152,671 -3.2 2.1 0.3 141,150 152,950 132,431 141,150 132,431 6.6

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 197,678 197,078 193,732 0.3 1.7 -0.4 179,732 192,445 162,588 179,732 162,588 10.5

 New Orders4

.............................. 197,717 207,032 199,538 -4.5 3.8 4.5 182,443 212,948 161,938 182,443 161,938 12.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 150,351 151,125 146,553 -0.5 3.1 0.3 134,228 150,924 121,560 134,228 121,560 10.4

 New Orders.............................. 155,110 164,639 158,164 -5.8 4.1 6.0 145,276 176,886 134,537 145,276 134,537 8.0

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 27,517 28,293 26,906 -2.7 5.2 5.2 26,232 24,091 20,017 26,232 20,017 31.0

 New Orders.............................. 27,019 28,949 27,892 -6.7 3.8 5.8 26,940 25,515 22,560 26,940 22,560 19.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 26,317 26,149 25,550 0.6 2.3 1.3 24,112 23,932 21,917 24,112 21,917 10.0

 New Orders.............................. 26,217 26,028 25,943 0.7 0.3 0.3 24,515 23,519 22,805 24,515 22,805 7.5

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 29,907 31,713 30,493 -5.7 4.0 0.7 26,848 32,704 24,247 26,848 24,247 10.7

 New Orders.............................. 30,548 34,093 32,020 -10.4 6.5 1.2 29,303 34,317 28,088 29,303 28,088 4.3

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 30,109 30,024 30,317 0.3 -1.0 -3.0 28,276 32,520 29,502 28,276 29,502 -4.2

 New Orders.............................. 23,359 23,183 23,336 0.8 -0.7 -6.4 20,280 28,937 21,348 20,280 21,348 -5.0

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 5,264 5,658 5,811 -7.0 -2.6 -9.7 4,229 7,202 4,734 4,229 4,734 -10.7

 New Orders.............................. 5,024 5,587 5,938 -10.1 -5.9 -7.3 3,989 7,131 4,586 3,989 4,586 -13.0

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,166 3,195 2,855 -0.9 11.9 -1.9 2,624 4,002 2,806 2,624 2,806 -6.5

 New Orders.............................. 2,883 2,844 2,842 1.4 0.1 -9.6 2,314 4,138 2,654 2,314 2,654 -12.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,334 10,198 10,079 1.3 1.2 -1.0 9,178 9,969 8,704 9,178 8,704 5.4

 New Orders.............................. 10,463 10,664 10,682 -1.9 -0.2 0.2 10,236 9,986 9,595 10,236 9,595 6.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 50,302 47,731 47,243 5.4 1.0 -2.5 43,304 49,109 38,445 43,304 38,445 12.6

 New Orders.............................. 55,238 58,857 55,341 -6.1 6.4 16.6 49,671 72,604 42,966 49,671 42,966 15.6

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 30,791 30,220 29,930 1.9 1.0 -1.0 28,533 28,072 25,284 28,533 25,284 12.9

 New Orders.............................. 30,658 30,394 30,066 0.9 1.1 0.0 28,520 28,778 25,429 28,520 25,429 12.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 9,138 7,786 7,708 17.4 1.0 -11.6 6,673 10,087 4,880 6,673 4,880 36.7

 New Orders.............................. 16,072 19,846 16,400 -19.0 21.0 88.1 12,983 31,359 4,810 12,983 4,810 169.9

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,246 3,987 3,791 6.5 5.2 2.3 3,166 4,856 3,284 3,166 3,284 -3.6

 New Orders.............................. 3,702 3,922 4,147 -5.6 -5.4 8.5 3,851 6,118 5,315 3,851 5,315 -27.5

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 33,334 32,928 32,516 1.2 1.3 -0.4 29,931 31,320 28,054 29,931 28,054 6.7

 New Orders.............................. 33,246 32,896 32,798 1.1 0.3 0.2 29,876 30,676 28,035 29,876 28,035 6.6

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 78,307 79,215 76,710 -1.1 3.3 -2.0 67,939 86,448 63,158 67,939 63,158 7.6

 New Orders.............................. 85,484 89,956 85,583 -5.0 5.1 8.0 78,079 107,839 70,778 78,079 70,778 10.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 70,943 71,582 69,745 -0.9 2.6 -2.2 61,849 78,237 56,592 61,849 56,592 9.3

 New Orders.............................. 79,545 84,909 79,514 -6.3 6.8 9.3 72,019 98,893 59,267 72,019 59,267 21.5

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 64,936 66,986 65,156 -3.1 2.8 -0.9 57,949 71,778 54,403 57,949 54,403 6.5

 New Orders.......................... 65,986 69,083 66,793 -4.5 3.4 -1.5 61,554 72,768 57,774 61,554 57,774 6.5

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 7,364 7,633 6,965 -3.5 9.6 0.0 6,090 8,211 6,566 6,090 6,566 -7.2

 New Orders.............................. 5,939 5,047 6,069 17.7 -16.8 -6.7 6,060 8,946 11,511 6,060 11,511 -47.4

r

 Revised data due to late receipts and concurrent seasonal adjustment.

1

 Estimates of shipments and new orders are for the duration of the period, while estimates of unfilled orders and total inventories are for the end of the period. Not seasonally adjusted estimates of 

shipments and new orders include adjusted data for non-calendar reporters. Seasonally adjusted estimates include concurrent adjustments for holiday and trading-day differences, where appropriate, 

as well as seasonal variation, based on the results of the latest annual review of the model parameters. Estimates are not adjusted for price changes.

2 Based on advance sample. Estimates of manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders are subject to survey error and revision. One major component of survey error is nonsampling error, which 

includes errors of coverage, response and nonreporting. Since the survey panel is not a probability sample, estimates of sampling error cannot be calculated. For further details on survey design, 

methodology, and data limitations, see http://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3.

3

 The Capital Goods Industries include Nondefense : small arms and ordnance; farm machinery and equipment; construction machinery; mining, oil, and gas field machinery; industrial machinery; vending, 

laundry, and other machinery; photographic equipment; metalworking machinery; turbines and generators; other power transmission equipment; pumps and compressors; material handling equipment; all 

other machinery; electronic computers; computer storage devices; other computer peripheral equipment; communications equipment; search and navigation equipment; electromedical, measuring, and 

control instruments; electrical equipment; other electrical equipment, appliances, and components; heavy duty trucks; aircraft; railroad rolling stock; ships and boats; office and institutional furniture; and 

medical equipment and supplies.

 Defense Capital Goods include : small arms and ordnance, communications equipment, aircraft; missiles, space vehicles, and parts, ships and boats, and search and navigation equipment.

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

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

Table 2. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders and Total 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

Jan Dec Nov Dec - Nov - Oct - Jan Dec Jan 2012/

2012 2 2011 r 2011 Jan 2 Dec r Nov 2012 2 2011 r 2011 2011

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 917,117 912,358 898,844 0.5 1.5 1.3 921,422 910,374 842,435 9.4

 Total Inventories....................... 372,535 369,978 368,843 0.7 0.3 0.5 370,594 359,368 336,950 10.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 382,012 382,189 379,801 0.0 0.6 0.9 380,576 375,895 348,654 9.2

 Total Inventories....................... 255,492 253,635 254,163 0.7 -0.2 0.2 254,497 247,148 236,116 7.8

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 750,669 744,141 728,307 0.9 2.2 1.7 754,070 743,251 673,870 11.9

 Total Inventories....................... 347,048 344,618 342,821 0.7 0.5 0.5 345,118 334,290 312,042 10.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 917,117 912,358 898,844 0.5 1.5 1.3 921,422 910,374 842,435 9.4

 Total Inventories....................... 305,440 303,178 302,239 0.7 0.3 0.6 303,534 294,473 274,750 10.5

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 34,059 34,557 33,901 -1.4 1.9 3.0 34,325 33,617 34,204 0.4

 Total Inventories....................... 34,590 34,472 34,373 0.3 0.3 0.1 33,867 33,540 30,994 9.3

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 66,126 66,226 66,347 -0.2 -0.2 0.6 65,013 64,610 60,176 8.0

 Total Inventories....................... 46,094 46,070 46,365 0.1 -0.6 0.2 46,068 45,284 42,583 8.2

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 121,669 121,028 118,648 0.5 2.0 1.3 121,357 118,902 98,119 23.7

 Total Inventories....................... 61,433 60,580 60,341 1.4 0.4 0.9 61,421 58,648 54,143 13.4

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 123,319 123,580 124,541 -0.2 -0.8 -0.2 123,562 123,450 124,183 -0.5

 Total Inventories....................... 47,658 47,340 47,908 0.7 -1.2 -0.4 47,538 46,118 45,861 3.7

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,204 3,444 3,515 -7.0 -2.0 3.7 3,204 3,444 3,506 -8.6

 Total Inventories....................... 6,055 5,993 6,094 1.0 -1.7 -0.8 5,807 5,632 5,243 10.8

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 27,752 28,035 28,386 -1.0 -1.2 0.0 27,836 28,146 29,439 -5.4

 Total Inventories....................... 9,091 8,979 9,484 1.2 -5.3 -2.2 9,213 8,898 9,125 1.0

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 28,385 28,256 27,790 0.5 1.7 2.2 28,423 27,365 24,143 17.7

 Total Inventories....................... 15,846 15,412 15,430 2.8 -0.1 -0.2 15,688 14,749 14,889 5.4

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 535,105 530,169 519,043 0.9 2.1 1.6 540,846 534,479 493,781 9.5

 Total Inventories....................... 117,043 116,343 114,680 0.6 1.5 1.2 116,097 112,220 100,834 15.1

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,917 14,050 13,876 -0.9 1.3 1.0 14,410 14,423 13,941 3.4

 Total Inventories....................... 26,873 26,673 26,427 0.7 0.9 -0.3 26,896 25,495 24,002 12.1

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 383,420 376,486 364,426 1.8 3.3 2.4 387,701 381,391 337,346 14.9

 Total Inventories....................... 64,480 64,191 62,924 0.5 2.0 1.8 63,526 61,747 52,341 21.4

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 55,065 55,609 55,674 -1.0 -0.1 0.6 55,909 55,224 54,136 3.3

 Total Inventories....................... 14,836 14,673 14,823 1.1 -1.0 3.6 14,736 14,418 13,783 6.9

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,454 8,542 8,574 -1.0 -0.4 3.4 7,896 7,951 7,829 0.9

 Total Inventories....................... 49,871 49,761 49,746 0.2 0.0 0.4 49,915 48,809 47,646 4.8

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 701,591 694,414 683,673 1.0 1.6 1.3 705,820 695,680 635,832 11.0

 Total Inventories....................... 192,176 190,397 190,118 0.9 0.1 0.9 190,701 184,604 169,262 12.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 554,372 545,770 532,443 1.6 2.5 1.9 558,069 547,899 486,215 14.8

 Total Inventories....................... 172,004 170,352 169,518 1.0 0.5 0.8 170,440 164,586 149,471 14.0

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 214,447 213,397 211,300 0.5 1.0 0.8 214,137 210,532 189,465 13.0

 Total Inventories................... 116,760 115,314 115,451 1.3 -0.1 0.4 116,141 111,758 105,194 10.4

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 147,219 148,644 151,230 -1.0 -1.7 -0.6 147,751 147,781 149,617 -1.2

 Total Inventories....................... 20,172 20,045 20,600 0.6 -2.7 1.8 20,261 20,018 19,791 2.4

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
4 

Survey Description 

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

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

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

(at current cost or market value), and inventories by stage of fabrication (materials and supplies, work-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. 

 

 

 Benchmark Notice 

 

Revised historical data for Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders will be issued on May 18, 

2012. These revisions reflect: 

 benchmarking the shipments and inventories data to the 2010 Annual Survey of Manufactures 

(ASM) data, as well as revised ASM benchmarks for prior years; 

 incorporating the unfilled orders to shipments ratios obtained from the 2009/2010 Manufacturers’ 

Unfilled Orders Survey by applying these ratios to the respective ASM shipments data, as well as 

incorporating revised unfilled orders to shipments ratios for prior years; 

 adjusting the new orders data to be consistent with the benchmarked shipments and unfilled orders 

data; 

 correcting monthly data for late receipts, reclassifications of reported data, and revisions to 

previously reported data; 

 incorporating the monthly data corrections when producing estimates for industry groups for which 

we identified companies to be tabbed separately from the link-relative estimation procedure; 

 implementing a new SAS® benchmarking program, which is based on the same benchmarking 

methodology as the previous ASCII Fortran program; and 

 updating the seasonally adjusted data, based on the results of benchmarking and the recent annual 

review of the seasonal adjustment models. 

An accompanying press release will include the revised 2012 January through March data. Please call 

Jessica Young on (301) 763-4813 with any questions.