FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2005, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Patrick Kent 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1(05)-02 

CB05-42

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

February 2005 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

February increased $0.6 billion or 0.3 percent to $200.8 

billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

followed a 1.1 percent January decrease. Excluding 

transportation, new orders decreased 0.2 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.2 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment had the largest increase, 

$0.9 billion or 1.6 percent to $53.6 billion, due to 

nondefense aircraft and parts, which increased $1.7 

billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in February, 

down following four consecutive increases, decreased 

$3.4 billion or 1.6 percent to $204.9 billion. This 

followed a 0.9 percent January increase. 

 Transportation equipment, down five of the last six 

months, had the largest decrease, $1.6 billion or 2.9 

percent to $52.6 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

February, up twelve of the last thirteen months, 

increased $3.3 billion or 0.6 percent to $555.4 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

stated on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a slight 

decrease in January. 

 Machinery, up eighteen of the last nineteen months, 

had the largest increase, up $1.1 billion or 2.1 percent to 

$53.1 billion. Transportation equipment increased $1.0 

billion or 0.4 percent to $263.5 billion. 

Inventories

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

February, up fifteen consecutive months, increased $1.9 

billion or 0.6 percent to $289.6 billion. This followed a 

1.6 percent January increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up four of the last five 

months, had the largest increase, $1.1 billion or 1.6 

percent to $71.5 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in February 

decreased slightly to $70.3 billion. Shipments decreased 

$1.8 billion or 2.7 percent to $66.7 billion. Unfilled 

orders increased $3.5 billion or 1.4 percent to $250.0 

billion. Inventories increased $0.8 billion or 0.7 percent 

to $113.1 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in February 

increased $0.4 billion or 6.5 percent to $7.2 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.3 billion or 4.2 percent to $8.4 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $1.2 billion or 0.8 

percent to $145.7 billion. Inventories decreased $0.1 

billion or 0.4 percent to $20.0 billion. 

Revised January Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted January figures for all 

manufacturing industries are: new orders, $380.2 billion 

(revised from $380.5 billion); shipments, $388.3 billion 

(revised from $389.4 billion); unfilled orders, $552.0 

billion (revised from $551.2 billion); and total 

inventories, $478.6 billion (revised from $477.5 billion). 

Figures in text, other than year-to-date, are in seasonally adjusted current dollars. 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 31, 2005, at 10:00 a.m. EST. 

The advance report on durable goods for March is scheduled for release on April 27, 2005, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. See back page 

for survey description and release dates. 
 2

Table 1. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders

[Millions of Dollars]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 1

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item Percent

Feb Jan Dec Jan - Dec- Nov - Feb Jan Feb Change

2005 2 2005 r 2004 Feb 2 Jan r Dec 2005 2 2005 r 2004 2005 2004 05/04

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Shipments................................ 204,850 208,237 206,456 -1.6 0.9 3.0 195,090 184,148 184,081 379,238 350,251 8.3

 New Orders 4

.............................. 200,814 200,181 202,476 0.3 -1.1 1.5 194,580 185,082 184,072 379,662 351,666 8.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 152,259 154,076 151,591 -1.2 1.6 2.7 142,371 136,840 127,806 279,211 247,478 12.8

 New Orders 4.............................. 147,212 147,447 146,195 -0.2 0.9 3.1 141,289 135,875 128,434 277,164 247,909 11.8

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 194,846 198,314 197,046 -1.7 0.6 3.2 185,470 176,150 173,497 361,620 331,901 9.0

 New Orders 4.............................. 192,260 191,897 193,727 0.2 -0.9 2.2 186,415 176,421 172,831 362,836 329,959 10.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 140,544 143,265 140,430 -1.9 2.0 2.7 133,573 127,532 124,287 261,105 237,288 10.0

 New Orders 4.............................. 143,848 143,116 143,444 0.5 -0.2 0.3 140,273 135,681 131,163 275,954 251,549 9.7

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 15,191 15,484 15,338 -1.9 1.0 3.0 14,952 14,932 12,276 29,884 23,824 25.4

 New Orders.............................. 14,932 14,848 15,252 0.6 -2.6 2.2 15,361 15,041 13,514 30,402 26,001 16.9

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 23,568 23,729 23,478 -0.7 1.1 0.5 22,713 21,797 20,299 44,510 39,525 12.6

 New Orders.............................. 23,993 24,229 23,630 -1.0 2.5 0.0 24,018 23,031 21,985 47,049 43,050 9.3

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 26,242 27,130 26,720 -3.3 1.5 6.6 24,434 23,723 21,326 48,157 41,198 16.9

 New Orders.............................. 27,353 27,648 27,251 -1.1 1.5 5.4 26,221 25,639 23,155 51,860 44,538 16.4

 Computers and electronic products:

 Shipments................................ 41,693 42,087 40,579 -0.9 3.7 0.7 37,828 36,378 34,872 74,206 67,300 10.3

 New Orders 4.............................. 35,165 34,759 35,059 1.2 -0.9 8.2 32,651 31,555 30,433 64,206 57,782 11.1

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 10,189 10,195 9,481 -0.1 7.5 2.1 8,311 8,975 6,680 17,286 14,024 23.3

 New Orders.............................. 10,229 10,023 10,258 2.1 -2.3 9.9 8,515 8,457 6,833 16,972 13,501 25.7 

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 7,211 7,082 6,924 1.8 2.3 0.5 6,359 5,948 6,127 12,307 11,859 3.8

 New Orders.............................. 7,365 7,455 7,574 -1.2 -1.6 24.0 7,022 7,456 7,176 14,478 13,134 10.2

 Semiconductors:

 Shipments................................ 7,340 7,907 6,994 -7.2 13.1 -4.3 7,210 7,215 6,885 14,425 12,846 12.3

 New Orders 4.............................. (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,286 9,378 8,999 -1.0 4.2 -0.7 8,744 8,062 8,023 16,806 15,376 9.3

 New Orders.............................. 9,429 9,875 8,688 -4.5 13.7 -6.9 9,285 8,750 8,662 18,035 16,189 11.4

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 52,591 54,161 54,865 -2.9 -1.3 3.8 52,719 47,308 56,275 100,027 102,773 -2.7

 New Orders.............................. 53,602 52,734 56,281 1.6 -6.3 -2.3 53,291 49,207 55,638 102,498 103,757 -1.2

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 37,414 38,111 39,770 -1.8 -4.2 4.8 38,379 34,528 40,174 72,907 75,136 -3.0

 New Orders.............................. 37,374 37,842 39,609 -1.2 -4.5 4.8 38,529 34,679 40,647 73,208 76,034 -3.7 

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 5,524 5,977 5,906 -7.6 1.2 7.3 5,187 4,563 5,610 9,750 9,531 2.3

 New Orders.............................. 7,184 5,437 8,008 32.1 -32.1 -16.7 6,490 5,058 5,125 11,548 8,895 29.8

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 3,524 3,792 3,170 -7.1 19.6 -6.0 3,258 3,077 4,467 6,335 7,377 -14.1

 New Orders.............................. 3,282 2,949 1,923 11.3 53.4 -39.5 2,967 3,021 3,388 5,988 6,379 -6.1

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 36,279 36,268 36,477 0.0 -0.6 4.4 33,700 31,948 31,010 65,648 60,255 9.0

 New Orders.............................. 36,340 36,088 36,315 0.7 -0.6 1.8 33,753 31,859 30,685 65,612 60,349 8.7

 Capital goods:3

 Shipments................................ 75,148 76,656 74,945 -2.0 2.3 3.6 69,169 65,895 65,233 135,064 123,715 9.2

 New Orders.............................. 77,450 77,015 76,978 0.6 0.0 -1.7 72,816 71,502 68,518 144,318 130,582 10.5

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 66,734 68,580 66,871 -2.7 2.6 4.1 61,038 59,309 56,075 120,347 107,779 11.7

 New Orders.............................. 70,253 70,256 69,489 0.0 1.1 -0.6 66,024 64,499 58,391 130,523 111,162 17.4

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 64,662 66,366 64,076 -2.6 3.6 3.1 59,041 58,005 53,578 117,046 104,004 12.5

 New Orders......................... 66,765 68,201 65,348 -2.1 4.4 3.4 62,968 62,319 56,764 125,287 108,118 15.9

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,414 8,076 8,074 4.2 0.0 -1.0 8,131 6,586 9,158 14,717 15,936 -7.6

 New Orders.............................. 7,197 6,759 7,489 6.5 -9.7 -11.0 6,792 7,003 10,127 13,795 19,420 -29.0

NA Not Available r Revised

1

 Shipments and new orders are the totals for the period and are adjusted for trading-day and calendar-month variations; unfilled orders and total inventories are as of the end of the period and are not 

adjusted for trading-day or calendar-month variations.

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. Further details on survey design, 

methodology, and data limitations are contained in our most recent annual benchmark publication, Current Industrial Reports: M3-1(02), "Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: 1992-2002."

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

Inventories for semiconductor industry data are included in computers and electronic products and total durable goods industries, but are not shown separately.
 3

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

[Millions of Dollars]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 1

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item Change

Feb Jan Dec Jan - Dec - Nov - Feb Jan Feb 2005/

2005 2 2005 r 2004 Feb 2 Jan r Dec 2005 2 2005 r 2004 2004

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................ 555,353 552,049 552,198 0.6 0.0 0.5 561,693 554,993 516,677 8.7

 Total Inventories....................... 289,631 287,761 283,320 0.6 1.6 0.3 292,731 286,708 267,403 9.5

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................ 291,813 289,520 288,242 0.8 0.4 0.6 295,423 289,295 264,412 11.7

 Total Inventories....................... 218,121 217,344 214,060 0.4 1.5 0.6 220,470 216,943 198,882 10.9

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................ 392,694 387,940 386,450 1.2 0.4 1.0 397,641 389,486 355,363 11.9

 Total Inventories....................... 264,744 262,710 258,415 0.8 1.7 0.1 267,625 261,875 243,040 10.1

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................ 555,353 552,049 552,198 0.6 0.0 0.5 561,693 554,993 516,677 8.7

 Total Inventories....................... 227,230 225,552 222,155 0.7 1.5 0.6 229,226 224,598 207,911 10.3

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 18,789 19,048 19,684 -1.4 -3.2 -0.4 19,383 18,974 18,179 6.6

 Total Inventories....................... 22,816 22,507 21,701 1.4 3.7 1.8 22,938 22,743 17,766 29.1

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 46,997 46,572 46,072 0.9 1.1 0.3 47,157 45,852 41,546 13.5

 Total Inventories....................... 36,594 36,132 35,593 1.3 1.5 1.4 36,906 36,012 31,758 16.2

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 53,147 52,036 51,518 2.1 1.0 1.0 54,104 52,317 46,222 17.1

 Total Inventories....................... 46,888 46,812 46,065 0.2 1.6 0.8 47,707 46,796 42,973 11.0

 Computers and electronic products:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................ 143,487 142,675 142,096 0.6 0.4 1.0 145,311 143,278 132,484 9.7

 Total Inventories....................... 49,699 49,890 49,317 -0.4 1.2 -0.4 49,981 49,515 47,316 5.6

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 9,002 8,962 9,134 0.4 -1.9 9.3 8,961 8,757 8,282 8.2

 Total Inventories....................... 6,527 6,548 6,469 -0.3 1.2 1.1 6,552 6,356 6,044 8.4 

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 55,588 55,434 55,061 0.3 0.7 1.2 56,163 55,500 51,044 10.0

 Total Inventories....................... 10,761 11,134 11,083 -3.4 0.5 1.0 10,796 11,110 10,607 1.8

 Semiconductors:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................ (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

 Total Inventories4...................... (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 15,849 15,706 15,209 0.9 3.3 -2.0 16,081 15,540 14,228 13.0

 Total Inventories....................... 13,146 13,134 13,003 0.1 1.0 0.6 13,478 13,104 12,612 6.9

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 263,540 262,529 263,956 0.4 -0.5 0.5 266,270 265,698 252,265 5.6

 Total Inventories....................... 71,510 70,417 69,260 1.6 1.7 -0.7 72,261 69,765 68,521 5.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 14,339 14,379 14,648 -0.3 -1.8 -1.1 14,966 14,816 14,518 3.1

 Total Inventories....................... 22,335 22,207 21,717 0.6 2.3 -1.3 22,620 22,157 21,104 7.2 

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 117,542 115,882 116,422 1.4 -0.5 1.8 118,936 117,633 104,435 13.9

 Total Inventories....................... 24,543 23,690 23,215 3.6 2.0 -1.9 24,725 23,285 23,940 3.3

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 52,553 52,795 53,638 -0.5 -1.6 -2.3 52,326 52,617 59,772 -12.5

 Total Inventories....................... 12,284 12,336 12,277 -0.4 0.5 3.1 12,576 12,272 11,756 7.0

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,544 13,483 13,663 0.5 -1.3 -1.2 13,387 13,334 11,753 13.9

 Total Inventories....................... 48,978 48,869 48,381 0.2 1.0 0.1 49,460 48,773 46,457 6.5

 Capital goods:3

 Unfilled Orders......................... 395,734 393,432 393,073 0.6 0.1 0.5 400,169 396,522 364,664 9.7

 Total Inventories....................... 133,096 132,399 130,914 0.5 1.1 0.1 134,364 131,484 125,987 6.6

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 250,042 246,523 244,847 1.4 0.7 1.1 253,214 248,228 222,930 13.6

 Total Inventories....................... 113,087 112,302 110,981 0.7 1.2 0.1 114,296 111,527 106,303 7.5

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 156,772 154,669 152,834 1.4 1.2 0.8 158,550 154,623 143,398 10.6

 Total Inventories.................. 95,523 95,430 94,394 0.1 1.1 0.6 96,547 94,950 89,068 8.4

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 145,692 146,909 148,226 -0.8 -0.9 -0.4 146,955 148,294 141,734 3.7

 Total Inventories....................... 20,009 20,097 19,933 -0.4 0.8 0.5 20,068 19,957 19,684 2.0

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
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), and end-of-month total inventory (at current cost or market value). 

The M3 includes approximately 4,000 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 59 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 4,000 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 4,000 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-tomonth movement of all companies is another potential source.

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

2005 Release Dates for M3 Survey

Survey Month Advance 8:30 A.M. Preliminary 10:00 A.M.

Dec 2004 1/27/05 2/3/05

Jan 2005 2/24/05 3/4/05

Feb 2005 3/24/05 3/31/05

Mar 2005 4/27/05 5/3/05

Apr 2005 5/25/05 6/2/05

May 2005 6/24/05 7/5/05

Jun 2005 7/27/05 8/2/05

Jul 2005 8/24/05 8/30/05

Aug 2005 9/28/05 10/4/05

Sep 2005 10/27/05 11/3/05

Oct 2005 11/29/05 12/6/05

Nov 2005 12/23/05