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FOR RELEASE AT 10:00 AM EST, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018 

MONTHLY FULL REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, INVENTORIES 

AND ORDERS DECEMBER 2017 

Release Number: CB 18-12 M3-2 (17)-12 

February 2, 2018 — The U.S. Census Bureau announces the December full report on manufacturers’ 

shipments, inventories and orders: 

MANUFACTURED GOODS – NEW ORDERS

DECEMBER 2017 $498.2 billion            +1.7%°

NOVEMBER 2017  

(revised) $489.7 billion            +1.7%°

Next release: March 6, 2018

Data adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes. 

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

°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. 

Summary 

New orders for manufactured goods in December, up six of the last seven months, increased $8.5 billion or 

1.7 percent to $498.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.7 percent 

November increase. Shipments, up twelve of the last thirteen months, increased $2.9 billion or 0.6 percent 

to $495.4 billion. This followed a 1.4 percent November increase. Unfilled orders, up four consecutive 

months, increased $7.1 billion or 0.6 percent to $1,144.4 billion. This followed a 0.1 percent November 

increase. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.59, up from 6.58 in November. Inventories, up 

thirteen of the last fourteen months, increased $3.3 billion or 0.5 percent to $669.2 billion. This followed a 

0.5 percent November increase. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.35, unchanged from November. 

New Orders 

New orders for manufactured durable goods in December, up four of the last five months, increased $6.8 

billion or 2.8 percent to $249.3 billion, down from the previously published 2.9 percent increase. This 

followed a 1.7 percent November increase. Transportation equipment, also up four of the last five months, 

led the increase, $5.7 billion or 7.1 percent to $86.9 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods 

increased $1.7 billion or 0.7 percent to $248.9 billion.

Shipments 

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in December, up seven of the last eight months, increased $1.2 

billion or 0.5 percent to $246.5 billion, down from the previously published 0.6 percent increase. This 

Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17 Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17

% Change 0.4% 0.8% 1.0% -0.3% -0.3% 3.2% -3.3% 1.2% 1.7% 0.4% 1.7% 1.7%

-4.0%

-3.0%

-2.0%

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

MANUFACTURERS' NEW ORDERS 2017

Seasonally Adjusted, Month-To-Month Percentage Change

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
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followed a 1.3 percent November increase. Primary metals, up five of the last six months, led the increase, 

$0.5 billion or 2.5 percent to $20.7 billion. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up eight of the 

last nine months, increased $1.7 billion or 0.7 percent to $248.9 billion. This followed a 1.6 percent 

November increase. Petroleum and coal products, up six consecutive months, led the increase, $0.7 billion 

or 1.4 percent to $50.2 billion. 

Unfilled Orders 

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in December, up four consecutive months, increased $7.1 

billion or 0.6 percent to $1,144.4 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This followed 

a 0.1 percent November increase. Transportation equipment, up following two consecutive monthly 

decreases, led the increase, $6.0 billion or 0.8 percent to $775.9 billion. 

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in December, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, 

increased $1.4 billion or 0.3 percent to $406.8 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. 

This followed a 0.3 percent November increase. Machinery, up ten of the last eleven months, led the 

increase, $0.4 billion or 0.5 percent to $70.4 billion. Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods, up 

seven consecutive months, increased $1.9 billion or 0.7 percent to $262.4 billion. This followed a 0.9 

percent November increase. Petroleum and coal products, up six consecutive months, led the increase, $0.9 

billion or 2.1 percent to $41.4 billion. By stage of fabrication, December materials and supplies decreased 

0.1 percent in durable goods and were virtually unchanged in nondurable goods. Work in process increased 

0.4 percent in durable goods and increased 2.1 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods increased 0.8 

percent in durable goods and increased 0.7 percent in nondurable goods. 

The Advance Report on durable goods for January is scheduled for release on February 27, 2018 at 8:30 

a.m. EST and the Full Report on March 6, 2018 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. 
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Description of the survey 

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

and Orders (M3) survey, which is a voluntary survey authorized by Title 13 of the United States Code. This 

survey provides statistics on a calendar-month basis for manufacturers' value of shipments, new orders (net 

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

cost or market value), and inventories by stage of fabrication (materials and supplies, work-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-tomonth changes of the total operations of the reporting units in the M3 panel effectively represent the monthto-month movements of all establishments that make up the category. The companies for which shipments 

data are currently reported or imputed in the M3 survey represent approximately 64 percent of the total 

value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2012 Economic Census, and these companies 

include almost two-thirds of the manufacturing companies with $500 million or more in shipments in the 

2012 Economic Census. The companies for which shipments data are currently reported in the M3 survey 

represent approximately 57 percent of the total value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 

2012 Economic Census. Statistics based on the M3 panel differ from the results that would be obtained 

from a complete enumeration of all manufacturing companies. The M3 panel is not based on a probability 

sample; therefore, the sampling errors that are normally provided with sample surveys cannot be measured. 

Nonsampling errors are attributable to many sources. The use of company or divisional reports to estimate 

the monthly change for establishments is one source of nonsampling error. The use of primarily large 

companies to represent the month-to-month movement of all companies is another potential source. Any 

corrections will be published in the full report. Corrections received after the full report will be released in 

the next month’s advance report. Any revisions made later than two months will be reflected in the annual 

benchmark publication. Additional survey documentation can be found on our web site: 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 

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/>. 
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Benchmark notice 

Revised historical data from the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey will be 

issued on May 17, 2018. These revisions result from: 

• benchmarking the M3 shipments and inventories data to the 2016 Annual Survey of Manufactures 

(ASM) and revised 2015 ASM data on a 2012 NAICS basis; 

• incorporating the unfilled orders to shipments ratios obtained from the 2016/2015 Manufacturers’ 

Unfilled Orders (M3UFO) Survey by applying these ratios to the respective ASM shipments data, as 

well as incorporating revised unfilled orders to shipments ratios for prior years by applying them to the 

respective ASM shipments data; 

• 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; 

• updating the seasonally adjusted data based on the results of benchmarking and the recent annual review 

of the seasonal adjustment models. 

These revisions will span the seasonally adjusted data for January 2002 through March 2018 and the data 

not seasonally adjusted for January 2007 through March 2018. An updated Press Release will contain 

revised monthly tables for January 2018 through March 2018. Please call M3 staff on (301) 763-4832 with 

any questions. 

###
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

Dec. Nov. Oct. Nov. - Oct. - Sep. - Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. 2017/

2017p 2017r 2017 Dec. Nov. Oct. 2017p 2017r 2017 2016 2017p 2016 2016

 All manufacturing industries.................. 495,401 492,505 485,469 0.6 1.4 0.8 479,906 482,925 496,488 459,666 5,728,111 5,446,982 5.2

 Excluding transportation................... 414,496 411,073 406,233 0.8 1.2 1.1 401,506 402,010 415,025 381,337 4,780,664 4,511,272 6.0

 Excluding defense.............................. 482,274 479,427 472,459 0.6 1.5 0.8 464,971 469,036 483,865 445,818 5,578,009 5,307,607 5.1

 With unfilled orders............................ 173,659 172,943 170,010 0.4 1.7 0.0 171,626 167,903 171,741 163,889 2,009,818 1,912,675 5.1

 Durable goods industries......................... 246,493 245,282 242,170 0.5 1.3 0.5 239,280 238,964 247,390 230,554 2,854,634 2,741,945 4.1

 Wood products....................................... 9,581 9,473 9,399 1.1 0.8 1.4 8,334 8,825 9,867 7,919 110,600 102,460 7.9

 Nonmetallic mineral products.................... 11,093 10,907 10,810 1.7 0.9 1.4 9,374 10,574 11,784 9,019 127,646 124,107 2.9

 Primary metals....................................... 20,704 20,202 19,966 2.5 1.2 1.7 18,291 18,916 20,226 16,620 233,823 211,043 10.8

 Iron and steel mills............................ 9,608 9,576 9,529 0.3 0.5 2.9 8,571 8,937 9,662 7,827 110,059 98,416 11.8

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals.......... 9,769 9,304 9,119 5.0 2.0 0.3 8,552 8,754 9,251 7,633 108,188 96,615 12.0

 Ferrous metal foundries....................... 1,327 1,322 1,318 0.4 0.3 2.6 1,168 1,225 1,313 1,160 15,576 16,012 -2.7

 Fabricated metal products....................... 33,379 32,962 32,736 1.3 0.7 0.9 30,386 31,681 33,953 28,531 383,462 356,902 7.4

 Machinery............................................. 32,688 32,514 32,535 0.5 -0.1 0.9 32,962 30,263 32,351 31,288 376,311 357,745 5.2

 Farm machinery................................. 2,975 2,904 3,087 2.4 -5.9 10.1 2,558 2,153 2,861 2,269 32,530 29,526 10.2

 Construction machinery..................... 2,276 2,260 2,136 0.7 5.8 1.5 2,261 2,184 2,254 1,811 25,015 23,258 7.6

 Mining, oil field, and 

 gas field machinery.......................... 1,078 1,153 1,050 -6.5 9.8 -10.9 1,177 1,149 1,057 874 12,322 12,073 2.1

 Industrial machinery.......................... 2,911 2,966 2,985 -1.9 -0.6 2.7 3,478 2,689 3,023 3,494 34,717 33,456 3.8

 Photographic equipment...................... 488 478 493 2.1 -3.0 -5.2 574 470 469 708 6,374 6,723 -5.2

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment............ 3,825 3,855 3,769 -0.8 2.3 2.0 3,615 3,511 3,457 3,572 45,076 43,843 2.8

 Metalworking machinery..................... 3,251 3,136 3,117 3.7 0.6 -0.7 3,542 3,181 3,309 3,401 36,650 33,880 8.2

 Turbines, generators, and other

 power transmission equipment....... 4,316 4,240 4,340 1.8 -2.3 -2.0 4,097 4,147 4,402 3,811 48,566 44,900 8.2

 Material handling equipment............... 2,816 2,836 2,863 -0.7 -0.9 0.0 2,846 2,759 2,965 2,797 33,542 31,639 6.0

 Computers and electronic products2

.......... 28,021 27,935 27,775 0.3 0.6 0.7 31,204 28,273 27,679 29,698 324,993 309,579 5.0

 Computers........................................ 624 680 678 -8.2 0.3 -2.0 776 649 653 940 8,557 8,775 -2.5

 Computer storage devices..................... 532 559 601 -4.8 -7.0 -6.4 812 451 419 1,036 7,721 7,990 -3.4

 Other peripheral equipment................ 635 650 677 -2.3 -4.0 14.4 887 568 643 794 7,128 7,037 1.3

 Nondefense communications

 equipment.................................... 3,041 2,953 2,904 3.0 1.7 2.8 3,965 2,725 2,650 3,515 33,722 31,935 5.6

 Defense communications equipment.... 236 240 251 -1.7 -4.4 1.6 235 257 256 232 2,895 2,993 -3.3

 Audio and video equipment.................... 340 347 353 -2.0 -1.7 -1.1 442 438 429 429 4,027 3,646 10.4

 Electronic components......................... 4,269 4,231 4,201 0.9 0.7 1.4 4,197 3,973 4,170 3,934 48,695 45,967 5.9

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 1,583 1,537 1,483 3.0 3.6 1.6 1,651 1,543 1,441 1,539 17,516 16,030 9.3

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment..................................... 2,689 2,723 2,675 -1.2 1.8 0.1 2,980 2,959 2,658 2,788 31,655 29,538 7.2

 Electromedical, measuring,

 and control instruments................. 9,657 9,599 9,359 0.6 2.6 2.0 11,179 9,486 8,971 9,726 107,886 101,310 6.5

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components................................... 10,222 10,170 10,185 0.5 -0.1 0.5 9,983 10,063 10,533 9,961 121,055 118,919 1.8

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,045 1,044 1,045 0.1 -0.1 -1.0 1,057 1,071 1,104 1,116 12,808 12,991 -1.4

 Household appliances........................ 1,547 1,517 1,528 2.0 -0.7 -3.2 1,553 1,573 1,602 1,672 18,673 19,914 -6.2

 Electrical equipment............................ 2,675 2,675 2,661 0.0 0.5 0.3 2,638 2,587 2,570 2,830 32,426 34,270 -5.4

 Batteries........................................... 950 929 935 2.3 -0.6 0.8 983 1,066 1,112 969 11,032 10,994 0.3

 Transportation equipment........................ 80,905 81,432 79,236 -0.6 2.8 -0.4 78,400 80,915 81,463 78,329 947,447 935,710 1.3

 Automobiles..................................... 7,873 7,924 7,837 -0.6 1.1 -2.6 7,065 8,105 8,103 8,000 96,125 110,345 -12.9

 Light trucks and utility vehicles.............. 17,242 17,221 16,941 0.1 1.7 4.8 16,117 17,279 18,214 15,680 196,177 185,757 5.6

 Heavy duty trucks ............................. 2,663 2,691 2,673 -1.0 0.7 2.0 2,252 2,563 2,862 1,900 29,843 27,498 8.5

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers.................................... 28,560 28,306 27,861 0.9 1.6 0.5 24,400 27,431 29,422 24,036 330,949 318,642 3.9

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 11,295 12,037 10,809 -6.2 11.4 -12.2 14,003 12,062 9,986 14,858 140,986 146,046 -3.5

 Defense aircraft and parts.................. 4,184 4,186 4,276 0.0 -2.1 6.7 5,127 4,373 4,093 4,693 48,589 46,523 4.4

 Ships and boats................................. 3,148 3,105 3,073 1.4 1.0 0.1 3,256 3,247 3,149 3,277 37,144 37,246 -0.3

 Furniture and related products.................. 6,691 6,727 6,630 -0.5 1.5 0.5 6,520 6,598 6,630 6,364 78,424 76,525 2.5

 Miscellaneous durable goods................. 13,209 12,960 12,898 1.9 0.5 0.8 13,826 12,856 12,904 12,825 150,873 148,955 1.3

 Nondurable goods industries..................... 248,908 247,223 243,299 0.7 1.6 1.1 240,626 243,961 249,098 229,112 2,873,477 2,705,037 6.2

 Food products....................................... 68,373 67,990 68,718 0.6 -1.1 -0.2 68,293 69,745 72,268 67,075 819,040 780,341 5.0

 Grain and oilseed milling....................... 7,694 7,583 7,527 1.5 0.7 -0.9 7,819 8,062 8,224 7,746 90,543 87,994 2.9

 Dairy products.................................. 9,621 9,539 9,617 0.9 -0.8 0.8 9,689 9,933 9,973 9,928 116,673 112,040 4.1

 Meat, poultry, and seafood products... 19,426 19,204 19,718 1.2 -2.6 -1.1 18,843 19,097 20,067 18,513 235,138 222,190 5.8

 Beverage and tobacco products................ 12,874 12,676 12,710 1.6 -0.3 -0.6 12,405 12,731 12,575 13,160 156,473 160,348 -2.4

 Beverages......................................... 8,997 9,008 9,207 -0.1 -2.2 1.3 8,528 9,063 9,072 9,468 111,749 118,919 -6.0

 Tobacco............................................ 3,877 3,668 3,503 5.7 4.7 -5.4 3,877 3,668 3,503 3,692 44,724 41,429 8.0

 Textile mills........................................... 2,658 2,647 2,664 0.4 -0.6 2.0 2,323 2,533 2,743 2,280 31,507 30,208 4.3

 Textile products................................... 2,287 2,286 2,245 0.0 1.8 1.3 2,040 2,176 2,258 1,969 26,587 25,960 2.4

 Apparel................................................ 1,074 1,057 1,033 1.6 2.3 0.2 1,011 1,215 1,191 978 12,536 11,968 4.7

 Leather and allied products...................... 372 379 388 -1.8 -2.3 1.6 360 360 412 379 4,601 4,578 0.5

 Paper products...................................... 16,340 16,351 16,312 -0.1 0.2 0.8 15,668 16,064 16,926 15,074 191,479 185,909 3.0

 Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills....... 6,660 6,670 6,740 -0.1 -1.0 1.0 6,496 6,512 6,897 6,492 79,395 78,628 1.0

 Paperboard containers........................ 5,528 5,565 5,501 -0.7 1.2 1.9 5,009 5,491 5,745 4,852 65,092 62,745 3.7

 Printing................................................. 6,401 6,384 6,320 0.3 1.0 1.1 6,257 6,608 6,743 6,502 76,250 81,487 -6.4

 Petroleum and coal products.................. 50,232 49,522 46,823 1.4 5.8 3.9 48,589 48,709 47,445 40,308 529,130 420,343 25.9

 Petroleum refineries.......................... 45,630 45,113 42,556 1.1 6.0 3.9 44,986 44,622 42,730 37,377 480,115 377,655 27.1

 Chemical products..................................... 67,883 67,707 66,042 0.3 2.5 1.1 65,359 64,687 65,788 63,077 786,193 764,030 2.9

 Pesticides, fertilizers, and other

 agricultural chemicals....................... 2,987 2,959 2,846 0.9 4.0 2.7 2,609 2,443 2,179 2,732 34,429 40,045 -14.0

 Pharmaceuticals and medicines............. 23,803 23,720 23,119 0.3 2.6 1.1 23,752 23,189 23,321 21,485 268,508 246,797 8.8

 Paints, coatings, and adhesives.......... 3,954 3,904 3,890 1.3 0.4 1.9 3,184 3,444 3,930 3,013 45,605 43,164 5.7

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 20,414 20,224 20,044 0.9 0.9 0.7 18,321 19,133 20,749 18,310 239,681 239,865 -0.1

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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 
Table 2. 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

Dec. Nov. Oct. Nov. - Oct. - Sep. - Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. 2017/

2017p 2017r 2017 Dec. Nov. Oct. 2017p 2017r 2017 2016 2017p 2016 2016

All manufacturing industries2........................ 498,229 489,700 481,623 1.7 1.7 0.4 494,144 480,859 488,527 460,323 5,696,665 5,373,935 6.0

 Excluding transportation2

...................... 411,357 408,567 404,003 0.7 1.1 1.2 397,541 397,652 410,613 375,926 4,744,398 4,465,271 6.3

 Excluding defense2

.............................. 483,943 477,282 469,868 1.4 1.6 0.6 475,197 468,558 478,335 441,956 5,549,223 5,230,936 6.1

 With unfilled orders2............................. 180,717 174,380 170,583 3.6 2.2 -1.4 189,750 170,868 168,965 169,131 2,031,466 1,891,480 7.4

 Durable goods industries2

......................... 249,321 242,477 238,324 2.8 1.7 -0.4 253,518 236,898 239,429 231,211 2,823,188 2,668,898 5.8

 Primary metals........................................ 20,991 20,615 20,227 1.8 1.9 2.2 18,948 19,689 20,397 16,890 236,134 212,406 11.2

 Iron and steel mills.............................. 9,799 9,795 9,687 0.0 1.1 3.1 8,993 9,384 9,609 8,163 111,508 99,903 11.6

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals.......... 9,889 9,446 9,178 4.7 2.9 1.4 8,774 9,010 9,447 7,452 108,655 95,924 13.3

 Ferrous metal foundries....................... 1,303 1,374 1,362 -5.2 0.9 1.6 1,181 1,295 1,341 1,275 15,971 16,579 -3.7

 Fabricated metal products........................ 33,752 33,380 33,275 1.1 0.3 -0.4 30,113 31,215 33,736 27,522 389,346 356,269 9.3

 Machinery............................................. 33,023 32,890 32,987 0.4 -0.3 2.8 32,602 30,563 32,944 30,275 380,991 354,469 7.5

 Construction machinery........................ 2,206 2,192 2,291 0.6 -4.3 -3.8 2,313 2,340 2,472 2,000 26,182 21,757 20.3

 Mining, oil field, and

 gas field machinery.......................... 1,128 1,119 1,103 0.8 1.5 -8.4 1,146 1,059 1,188 630 12,464 10,011 24.5

 Industrial machinery............................ 2,935 2,813 2,943 4.3 -4.4 1.0 3,354 2,376 3,068 3,231 34,578 31,833 8.6

 Photographic equipment....................... 576 488 497 18.0 -1.8 -2.9 650 477 521 666 6,293 6,814 -7.6

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment............... 4,081 4,015 3,848 1.6 4.3 4.1 3,803 3,602 3,528 3,543 45,948 43,714 5.1

 Metalworking machinery....................... 3,333 3,274 2,965 1.8 10.4 2.0 3,522 3,301 3,077 3,255 36,394 34,440 5.7

 Turbines, generators, and other 

 power transmission equipment........... 4,041 4,266 4,207 -5.3 1.4 1.5 3,936 4,248 4,148 3,681 48,061 45,052 6.7

 Material handling equipment.................. 2,896 2,981 3,030 -2.9 -1.6 5.4 3,122 2,837 2,886 3,129 35,272 32,299 9.2

 Computers and electronic products2

........... 23,899 23,925 24,128 -0.1 -0.8 1.6 27,910 23,150 22,677 26,333 275,077 262,806 4.7

 Computers........................................ 658 700 709 -6.0 -1.3 -2.3 810 669 684 949 8,873 8,785 1.0

 Nondefense communications

 equipment...................................... 3,031 3,115 3,291 -2.7 -5.3 1.5 3,982 2,838 2,988 3,818 35,994 34,270 5.0

 Defense communications equipment....... 233 253 296 -7.9 -14.5 15.2 216 235 288 212 2,986 2,946 1.4

 Electronic components......................... 4,375 4,325 4,291 1.2 0.8 1.5 4,436 3,905 4,253 4,099 49,404 46,167 7.0

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 1,776 1,551 1,597 14.5 -2.9 6.0 1,442 1,746 1,515 1,400 18,354 16,856 8.9

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 2,454 2,560 2,623 -4.1 -2.4 0.0 3,215 2,490 2,394 3,248 30,197 30,072 0.4

 Electromedical, measuring,

 and control instruments..................... 9,680 9,691 9,516 -0.1 1.8 1.1 11,474 9,617 8,860 10,168 108,296 102,531 5.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components................................... 10,271 10,362 10,323 -0.9 0.4 1.0 10,178 10,068 10,499 10,507 121,630 121,714 -0.1

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,059 1,057 1,077 0.2 -1.9 1.5 1,037 1,062 1,140 1,073 12,969 12,966 0.0

 Household appliances.......................... 1,521 1,503 1,531 1.2 -1.8 -3.8 1,527 1,582 1,602 1,709 18,759 19,988 -6.1

 Electrical equipment............................ 2,741 2,743 2,759 -0.1 -0.6 2.8 2,607 2,657 2,733 2,803 32,506 34,585 -6.0

 Transportation equipment........................ 86,872 81,133 77,620 7.1 4.5 -4.0 96,603 83,207 77,914 84,397 952,267 908,664 4.8

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers..................................... 28,748 28,628 27,944 0.4 2.4 0.7 25,401 28,038 28,796 24,727 332,720 317,231 4.9

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 14,449 12,475 10,936 15.8 14.1 -15.8 26,135 15,297 9,706 16,857 146,444 119,532 22.5

 Defense aircraft and parts.................... 5,305 3,430 3,317 54.7 3.4 -7.0 7,424 3,342 2,856 4,839 49,347 50,839 -2.9

 Ships and boats.................................. 2,508 2,734 2,665 -8.3 2.6 -37.8 2,605 2,935 2,603 6,601 34,582 35,686 -3.1

 Furniture and related products................... 6,653 6,830 6,648 -2.6 2.7 2.4 5,653 6,749 6,698 5,544 78,599 77,046 2.0

 Nondurable goods industries..................... 248,908 247,223 243,299 0.7 1.6 1.1 240,626 243,961 249,098 229,112 2,873,477 2,705,037 6.2

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

 Data on new orders are not available for the semiconductor industry. Estimates and percent changes for new 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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our 

website at <www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 
Table 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 December

Dec. Nov. Oct. Nov. - Oct. - Sep. - Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. 2017/

2017p 2017r 2017 Dec. Nov. Oct. 2017p 2017r 2017 2016 2016

All manufacturing industries2...................... 1,144,369 1,137,311 1,135,874 0.6 0.1 0.1 1,144,390 1,126,266 1,123,301 1,122,742 1.9

 Excluding transportation2...................... 368,499 367,408 365,672 0.3 0.5 0.6 361,491 361,570 360,897 344,663 4.9

 Excluding defense2

............................. 966,756 960,857 958,760 0.6 0.2 0.2 967,162 953,050 948,497 942,854 2.6

 Durable goods industries2........................ 1,144,369 1,137,311 1,135,874 0.6 0.1 0.1 1,144,390 1,126,266 1,123,301 1,122,742 1.9

 Primary metals........................................ 31,699 31,412 30,999 0.9 1.3 0.8 31,253 30,596 29,823 28,942 8.0

 Iron and steel mills............................... 16,078 15,887 15,668 1.2 1.4 1.0 15,646 15,224 14,777 14,197 10.2

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals............. 11,181 11,061 10,919 1.1 1.3 0.5 11,251 11,029 10,773 10,784 4.3

 Ferrous metal foundries........................ 4,440 4,464 4,412 -0.5 1.2 1.0 4,356 4,343 4,273 3,961 10.0

 Fabricated metal products......................... 81,644 81,271 80,853 0.5 0.5 0.7 79,143 79,416 79,882 73,259 8.0

 Machinery.............................................. 102,069 101,734 101,358 0.3 0.4 0.4 100,329 100,689 100,389 95,649 4.9

 Construction machinery......................... 5,970 6,040 6,108 -1.2 -1.1 2.6 5,921 5,869 5,713 4,754 24.5

 Mining, oil field, and

 gas field machinery.......................... 5,284 5,234 5,268 1.0 -0.6 1.0 5,249 5,280 5,370 5,107 2.8

 Industrial machinery............................. 8,066 8,042 8,195 0.3 -1.9 -0.5 7,730 7,854 8,167 7,869 -1.8

 Photographic equipment........................ 1,301 1,213 1,203 7.3 0.8 0.3 1,310 1,234 1,227 1,391 -5.8

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment................ 6,618 6,362 6,202 4.0 2.6 1.3 6,350 6,162 6,071 5,478 15.9

 Metalworking machinery........................ 7,978 7,896 7,758 1.0 1.8 -1.9 7,753 7,773 7,653 8,009 -3.2

 Turbines, generators, and other 

 power transmission equipment............ 29,057 29,332 29,306 -0.9 0.1 -0.5 29,072 29,233 29,132 29,577 -1.7

 Material handling equipment................... 13,118 13,038 12,893 0.6 1.1 1.3 12,909 12,633 12,555 11,179 15.5

 Computers and electronic products2............. 119,884 119,776 119,544 0.1 0.2 0.6 119,086 118,494 118,586 115,908 2.7

 Computers......................................... 2,005 1,971 1,951 1.7 1.0 1.6 2,005 1,971 1,951 1,689 18.7

 Nondefense communications

 equipment...................................... 26,763 26,773 26,611 0.0 0.6 1.5 26,488 26,471 26,358 24,216 9.4

 Defense communications equipment........ 1,687 1,690 1,677 -0.2 0.8 2.8 1,648 1,667 1,689 1,557 5.8

 Electronic components.......................... 11,885 11,779 11,685 0.9 0.8 0.8 11,774 11,535 11,603 11,065 6.4

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment....................................... 19,010 18,817 18,803 1.0 0.1 0.6 18,798 19,007 18,804 17,960 4.7

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment....................................... 26,497 26,732 26,895 -0.9 -0.6 -0.2 26,445 26,210 26,679 27,903 -5.2

 Electromedical, measuring,

 and control instruments...................... 32,037 32,014 31,922 0.1 0.3 0.5 31,928 31,633 31,502 31,518 1.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components.................................... 22,811 22,762 22,570 0.2 0.9 0.6 22,212 22,017 22,012 21,637 2.7

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 1,665 1,651 1,638 0.8 0.8 2.0 1,592 1,612 1,621 1,431 11.3

 Household appliances........................... 1,145 1,171 1,185 -2.2 -1.2 0.3 1,145 1,171 1,162 1,059 8.1

 Electrical equipment............................. 8,422 8,356 8,288 0.8 0.8 1.2 8,231 8,262 8,192 8,151 1.0

 Transportation equipment......................... 775,870 769,903 770,202 0.8 0.0 -0.2 782,899 764,696 762,404 778,079 0.6

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers...................................... 24,450 24,262 23,940 0.8 1.3 0.3 24,671 23,670 23,063 22,900 7.7

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 582,281 579,127 578,689 0.5 0.1 0.0 589,237 577,105 573,870 583,779 0.9

 Defense aircraft and parts..................... 72,685 71,564 72,320 1.6 -1.0 -1.3 72,158 69,861 70,892 71,400 1.1

 Ships and boats.................................. 23,499 24,139 24,510 -2.7 -1.5 -1.6 23,069 23,720 24,032 25,631 -10.0

 Furniture and related products................... 9,665 9,703 9,600 -0.4 1.1 0.2 8,741 9,608 9,457 8,566 2.0

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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on 

our website at <www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 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 December

Dec. Nov. Oct. Nov. - Oct. - Sep. - Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. 2017/

2017p 2017r 2017 Dec. Nov. Oct. 2017p 2017r 2017 2016 2016

 All manufacturing industries...................... 669,232 665,900 662,588 0.5 0.5 0.3 653,278 666,877 666,232 627,254 4.1

 Excluding transportation........................ 538,420 535,343 531,681 0.6 0.7 0.4 525,828 535,811 534,849 500,367 5.1

 Excluding defense............................. 641,770 638,613 634,963 0.5 0.6 0.3 626,048 639,645 638,628 601,503 4.1

 With unfilled orders............................. 331,054 330,122 329,064 0.3 0.3 0.3 322,433 330,472 329,478 309,737 4.1

 Durable goods industries........................ 406,833 405,427 404,393 0.3 0.3 0.2 396,412 405,615 404,685 380,826 4.1

 Wood products........................................ 12,039 11,939 11,859 0.8 0.7 0.6 11,941 11,926 11,769 11,337 5.3

 Nonmetallic mineral products..................... 13,681 13,636 13,508 0.3 0.9 0.0 13,353 13,189 13,134 12,710 5.1

 Primary metals......................................... 34,141 34,237 34,113 -0.3 0.4 1.1 33,988 34,128 34,004 31,100 9.3

 Iron and steel mills............................... 19,088 19,121 19,013 -0.2 0.6 0.7 19,092 19,117 19,060 17,580 8.6

 Aluminum and nonferrous metals............ 13,040 13,097 13,070 -0.4 0.2 1.7 12,930 13,016 12,950 11,650 11.0

 Ferrous metal foundries........................ 2,013 2,019 2,030 -0.3 -0.5 0.8 1,966 1,995 1,994 1,870 5.1

 Fabricated metal products......................... 51,067 50,880 50,470 0.4 0.8 0.2 50,260 50,424 50,202 46,963 7.0

 Machinery.............................................. 70,356 69,975 69,618 0.5 0.5 -0.1 67,821 70,580 69,663 64,238 5.6

 Farm machinery.................................. 3,670 3,670 3,864 0.0 -5.0 -0.9 3,837 3,746 3,605 3,646 5.2

 Construction machinery......................... 5,479 5,433 5,308 0.8 2.4 -0.4 5,353 5,441 5,382 5,119 4.6

 Mining, oil field, 

 and gas field machinery.................... 7,846 7,751 7,801 1.2 -0.6 1.1 7,582 7,678 7,708 7,758 -2.3

 Industrial machinery............................. 7,790 7,765 7,708 0.3 0.7 -1.9 7,630 7,877 7,646 7,220 5.7

 Photographic equipment....................... 1,462 1,414 1,382 3.4 2.3 -3.3 1,415 1,455 1,396 1,335 6.0

 Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning,

 and refrigeration equipment............... 5,191 5,189 5,189 0.0 0.0 0.1 4,748 5,102 5,123 4,427 7.3

 Metalworking machinery........................ 5,969 5,944 5,899 0.4 0.8 0.4 5,820 6,023 5,939 5,559 4.7

 Turbines, generators, and other

 power transmission equipment............ 10,248 10,174 9,991 0.7 1.8 -1.0 9,577 10,436 10,276 8,572 11.7

 Material handling equipment.................. 5,306 5,377 5,311 -1.3 1.2 1.8 4,852 5,454 5,467 4,308 12.6

 Computers and electronic products2

............ 45,462 45,338 45,168 0.3 0.4 0.2 43,760 45,459 45,491 41,967 4.3

 Computers......................................... 1,844 1,820 1,805 1.3 0.8 2.2 1,685 1,805 1,825 1,683 0.1

 Computer storage devices.................... 1,394 1,408 1,425 -1.0 -1.2 0.1 1,282 1,438 1,447 1,348 -4.9

 Other peripheral equipment................... 1,149 1,136 1,150 1.1 -1.2 -3.0 1,081 1,166 1,132 1,081 0.0

 Nondefense communications

 equipment...................................... 4,012 4,020 4,019 -0.2 0.0 0.9 3,801 4,136 4,046 3,718 2.2

 Defense communications equipment........ 578 571 558 1.2 2.3 0.7 578 571 558 548 5.5

 Audio and video equipment.................... 620 604 605 2.6 -0.2 0.3 593 643 677 640 -7.3

 Electronic components.......................... 7,994 7,928 7,925 0.8 0.0 -0.9 7,739 7,827 7,927 7,195 7.6

 Nondefense search and navigation

 equipment...................................... 3,088 3,119 3,128 -1.0 -0.3 -0.4 3,003 3,096 3,185 2,966 1.2

 Defense search and navigation

 equipment....................................... 3,133 3,144 3,149 -0.3 -0.2 1.2 3,014 3,070 3,119 3,051 -1.2

 Electromedical, measuring 

 and control instruments...................... 14,882 14,747 14,658 0.9 0.6 0.2 14,368 14,999 14,855 13,848 3.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components.................................... 18,128 17,910 17,819 1.2 0.5 0.5 17,328 17,680 17,807 16,238 6.7

 Electric lighting equipment..................... 2,247 2,236 2,214 0.5 1.0 1.0 2,135 2,201 2,214 1,948 9.6

 Household appliances........................... 2,520 2,503 2,463 0.7 1.6 0.9 2,270 2,414 2,504 2,102 8.0

 Electrical equipment............................. 4,895 4,908 4,930 -0.3 -0.4 0.5 4,760 4,943 4,915 4,664 2.1

 Batteries............................................ 1,832 1,788 1,773 2.5 0.8 -0.1 1,688 1,715 1,785 1,598 5.6

 Transportation equipment......................... 130,812 130,557 130,907 0.2 -0.3 0.0 127,450 131,066 131,383 126,887 0.4

 Automobiles....................................... 4,419 4,339 4,350 1.8 -0.3 -2.9 4,156 4,338 4,487 4,130 0.6

 Light trucks and utility vehicles.............. 3,837 3,778 3,767 1.6 0.3 -0.9 3,514 3,994 4,038 3,371 4.2

 Heavy duty trucks ............................... 1,997 1,969 2,038 1.4 -3.4 -2.5 1,873 1,905 1,979 1,887 -0.7

 Motor vehicle bodies, parts, 

 and trailers...................................... 24,790 24,611 24,500 0.7 0.5 -0.5 24,362 24,564 24,519 24,545 -0.7

 Nondefense aircraft and parts................ 66,900 67,194 67,198 -0.4 0.0 0.6 65,019 67,515 67,214 65,731 -1.1

 Defense aircraft and parts..................... 13,414 13,353 13,431 0.5 -0.6 1.5 13,321 13,383 13,442 11,623 14.6

 Ships and boats.................................. 3,051 3,183 3,296 -4.1 -3.4 -5.5 3,059 3,203 3,299 3,437 -11.0

 Furniture and related products.................... 7,973 7,906 7,867 0.8 0.5 0.7 7,751 7,902 7,833 7,161 8.2

 Miscellaneous durable goods..................... 23,174 23,049 23,064 0.5 -0.1 0.2 22,760 23,261 23,399 22,225 2.4

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 262,399 260,473 258,195 0.7 0.9 0.6 256,866 261,262 261,547 246,428 4.2

 Food products........................................ 55,633 55,347 55,420 0.5 -0.1 -0.3 55,238 57,501 58,827 54,898 0.6

 Grain and oilseed milling........................ 5,535 5,492 5,484 0.8 0.1 0.0 5,738 5,786 5,798 5,826 -1.5

 Dairy products.................................... 8,265 8,178 8,171 1.1 0.1 -1.2 7,736 7,802 8,119 7,649 1.1

 Meat, poultry, and seafood products....... 9,130 9,221 9,234 -1.0 -0.1 -2.2 8,878 9,500 9,411 8,877 0.0

 Beverage and tobacco products................ 23,765 23,597 23,381 0.7 0.9 0.6 23,818 24,019 24,117 23,223 2.6

 Beverages......................................... 19,360 19,182 18,966 0.9 1.1 0.5 19,211 19,349 19,563 18,674 2.9

 Tobacco............................................ 4,405 4,415 4,415 -0.2 0.0 1.0 4,607 4,670 4,554 4,549 1.3

 Textile mills............................................ 3,319 3,293 3,276 0.8 0.5 0.3 3,265 3,251 3,274 3,119 4.7

 Textile products...................................... 3,447 3,436 3,442 0.3 -0.2 0.2 3,369 3,414 3,429 3,282 2.7

 Apparel................................................. 2,072 2,029 2,035 2.1 -0.3 -1.5 1,938 1,950 2,087 1,930 0.4

 Leather and allied products....................... 784 785 783 -0.1 0.3 -0.6 765 780 779 770 -0.6

 Paper products....................................... 15,680 15,683 15,570 0.0 0.7 0.1 15,570 15,522 15,383 15,588 -0.1

 Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills........... 6,146 6,167 6,154 -0.3 0.2 -0.4 6,168 6,089 6,036 6,309 -2.2

 Paperboard containers......................... 5,010 5,067 4,996 -1.1 1.4 1.5 4,993 5,011 4,940 4,937 1.1

 Printing.................................................. 5,520 5,479 5,409 0.7 1.3 -0.1 5,346 5,480 5,568 5,345 0.0

 Petroleum and coal products..................... 41,358 40,494 38,944 2.1 4.0 1.4 40,080 40,443 39,384 33,811 18.5

 Petroleum refineries............................. 36,599 35,741 34,280 2.4 4.3 1.6 35,323 35,757 34,859 29,272 20.7

 Chemical products..................................... 84,617 84,305 84,036 0.4 0.3 1.0 82,005 83,199 83,093 80,088 2.4

 Pesticides, fertilizers, and other

 agricultural chemicals........................ 4,029 4,078 4,108 -1.2 -0.7 -1.3 4,158 4,079 3,921 4,315 -3.6

 Pharmaceuticals and medicines.............. 35,443 35,396 35,303 0.1 0.3 1.1 33,949 34,959 35,097 33,630 0.9

 Paints, coatings, and adhesives.............. 4,007 3,994 3,979 0.3 0.4 0.9 3,838 3,853 3,846 3,575 7.4

 Plastics and rubber products..................... 26,204 26,025 25,899 0.7 0.5 0.5 25,472 25,703 25,606 24,374 4.5

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 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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 
Table 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

Dec. Nov. Oct. Nov. - Oct. - Sep. - Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. 2017/

2017p 2017r 2017 Dec. Nov. Oct. 2017p 2017r 2017 2016 2017p 2016 2016

SHIPMENTS

 All manufacturing industries................... 495,401 492,505 485,469 0.6 1.4 0.8 479,906 482,925 496,488 459,666 5,728,111 5,446,982 5.2

 Construction materials and supplies....... 52,050 51,321 50,677 1.4 1.3 1.0 45,114 48,675 53,402 43,138 599,100 570,146 5.1

 Information technology......................... 24,015 23,945 23,664 0.3 1.2 1.7 27,447 23,505 22,938 25,261 275,694 259,233 6.3

 Computers and related products........... 1,791 1,889 1,956 -5.2 -3.4 1.6 2,475 1,668 1,715 2,770 23,406 23,802 -1.7

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 56,338 56,142 55,312 0.3 1.5 1.4 49,834 55,378 58,601 49,616 653,094 642,242 1.7

 Capital goods...................................... 85,199 85,647 84,041 -0.5 1.9 -0.6 92,746 83,454 82,578 88,015 986,934 943,511 4.6

 Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 74,137 74,537 73,082 -0.5 2.0 -1.0 80,436 71,602 71,919 76,771 861,086 828,683 3.9

 Excluding aircraft............................. 66,923 66,637 66,452 0.4 0.3 1.2 70,763 63,602 66,033 66,370 770,464 734,805 4.9

 Defense capital goods4

........................ 11,062 11,110 10,959 -0.4 1.4 2.5 12,310 11,852 10,659 11,244 125,848 114,828 9.6

 Consumer goods.................................. 206,312 204,939 202,021 0.7 1.4 1.3 202,368 205,524 208,082 191,214 2,370,816 2,206,224 7.5

 Consumer durable goods..................... 38,846 38,722 38,312 0.3 1.1 1.9 36,814 38,820 39,966 36,914 452,093 455,601 -0.8

 Consumer nondurable goods................ 167,466 166,217 163,709 0.8 1.5 1.1 165,554 166,704 168,116 154,300 1,918,723 1,750,623 9.6

 All manufacturing industries5

................... 498,229 489,700 481,623 1.7 1.7 0.4 494,144 480,859 488,527 460,323 5,696,665 5,373,935 6.0

 Construction materials and supplies....... 52,502 51,643 50,948 1.7 1.4 0.5 45,025 48,251 53,282 42,342 603,243 570,364 5.8

 Information technology......................... 24,100 24,218 24,355 -0.5 -0.6 1.5 28,148 23,423 22,857 26,853 278,330 266,634 4.4

 Computers and related products........... 1,825 1,909 1,987 -4.4 -3.9 1.4 2,509 1,688 1,746 2,779 23,722 23,812 -0.4

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 56,526 56,464 55,395 0.1 1.9 1.5 50,835 55,985 57,975 50,307 654,865 640,831 2.2

 Capital goods...................................... 87,608 85,837 83,598 2.1 2.7 -3.8 104,614 85,387 80,137 93,736 996,348 927,416 7.4

 Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 74,835 75,119 73,543 -0.4 2.1 -3.0 87,747 75,385 71,793 78,395 872,541 808,436 7.9

 Excluding aircraft............................. 66,854 67,256 67,220 -0.6 0.1 0.8 69,587 63,905 66,290 65,360 776,311 737,706 5.2

 Defense capital goods4

........................ 12,773 10,718 10,055 19.2 6.6 -9.8 16,867 10,002 8,344 15,341 123,807 118,980 4.1

 Consumer goods.................................. 206,074 204,966 202,046 0.5 1.4 1.3 201,901 205,763 208,090 191,029 2,370,860 2,206,452 7.5

 Consumer durable goods..................... 38,608 38,749 38,337 -0.4 1.1 2.1 36,347 39,059 39,974 36,729 452,137 455,829 -0.8

 Consumer nondurable goods.............. 167,466 166,217 163,709 0.8 1.5 1.1 165,554 166,704 168,116 154,300 1,918,723 1,750,623 9.6

 All manufacturing industries5

................... 1,144,369 1,137,311 1,135,874 0.6 0.1 0.1 1,144,390 1,126,266 1,123,301 1,122,742 (X) (X) 1.9

 Construction materials and supplies....... 54,602 54,150 53,828 0.8 0.6 0.5 52,818 52,907 53,331 48,675 (X) (X) 8.5

 Information technology......................... 120,879 120,794 120,521 0.1 0.2 0.6 119,866 119,165 119,247 117,230 (X) (X) 2.2

 Computers and related products........... 2,005 1,971 1,951 1.7 1.0 1.6 2,005 1,971 1,951 1,689 (X) (X) 18.7

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 24,450 24,262 23,940 0.8 1.3 0.3 24,671 23,670 23,063 22,900 (X) (X) 7.7

 Capital goods...................................... 850,852 848,443 848,253 0.3 0.0 -0.1 853,591 841,723 839,790 844,177 (X) (X) 1.1

 Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 707,095 706,397 705,815 0.1 0.1 0.1 710,144 702,833 699,050 698,689 (X) (X) 1.6

 Excluding aircraft............................. 229,248 229,317 228,698 0.0 0.3 0.3 225,412 226,588 226,285 219,565 (X) (X) 2.7

 Defense capital goods4........................ 143,757 142,046 142,438 1.2 -0.3 -0.6 143,447 138,890 140,740 145,488 (X) (X) -1.4

 Consumer goods.................................. 5,220 5,458 5,431 -4.4 0.5 0.5 5,048 5,515 5,276 5,004 (X) (X) 0.9

 Consumer durable goods..................... 5,220 5,458 5,431 -4.4 0.5 0.5 5,048 5,515 5,276 5,004 (X) (X) 0.9

 All manufacturing industries................... 669,232 665,900 662,588 0.5 0.5 0.3 653,278 666,877 666,232 627,254 (X) (X) 4.1

 Construction materials and supplies....... 69,037 68,790 68,156 0.4 0.9 0.3 67,498 67,745 67,282 63,458 (X) (X) 6.4

 Information technology......................... 39,018 38,679 38,541 0.9 0.4 0.2 37,522 39,024 38,856 36,369 (X) (X) 3.2

 Computers and related products........... 4,387 4,364 4,380 0.5 -0.4 0.1 4,048 4,409 4,404 4,112 (X) (X) -1.6

 Motor vehicle and parts......................... 35,043 34,697 34,655 1.0 0.1 -1.0 33,905 34,801 35,023 33,933 (X) (X) -0.1

 Capital goods...................................... 204,088 203,474 203,323 0.3 0.1 0.1 197,772 204,834 203,779 191,831 (X) (X) 3.1

 Nondefense capital goods3

.................. 180,860 180,412 179,910 0.2 0.3 0.1 174,683 181,857 180,398 170,620 (X) (X) 2.4

 Excluding aircraft............................. 125,487 124,712 124,318 0.6 0.3 0.0 121,154 125,845 124,877 116,224 (X) (X) 4.2

 Defense capital goods4........................ 23,228 23,062 23,413 0.7 -1.5 0.2 23,089 22,977 23,381 21,211 (X) (X) 8.9

 Consumer goods.................................. 201,125 199,360 197,537 0.9 0.9 0.4 196,606 201,658 202,623 188,143 (X) (X) 4.5

 Consumer durable goods..................... 30,014 29,720 29,699 1.0 0.1 -0.3 28,863 30,000 30,333 27,948 (X) (X) 3.3

 Consumer nondurable goods................ 171,111 169,640 167,838 0.9 1.1 0.5 167,743 171,658 172,290 160,195 (X) (X) 4.7

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 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 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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 
Table 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 December

Dec. Nov. Oct. Nov. - Oct. - Sep. - Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. 2017/

2017p 2017r 2017 Dec. Nov. Oct. 2017p 2017r 2017 2016 2016

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

 All manufacturing industries....................... 226,892 227,039 226,082 -0.1 0.4 -0.2 224,958 226,676 226,595 215,780 4.3

 Durable goods industries.......................... 136,235 136,339 136,250 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 135,033 136,121 136,419 129,705 4.1

 Wood products................................... 5,001 4,930 4,860 1.4 1.4 0.4 5,144 5,045 4,998 4,852 6.0

 Nonmetallic mineral products................. 5,559 5,541 5,495 0.3 0.8 -0.5 5,505 5,481 5,462 5,247 4.9

 Primary metals.................................... 12,657 12,755 12,772 -0.8 -0.1 0.6 12,941 12,982 12,910 12,070 7.2

 Fabricated metal products........................ 18,541 18,498 18,488 0.2 0.1 -0.5 18,523 18,353 18,444 17,372 6.6

 Machinery.......................................... 25,026 24,774 24,599 1.0 0.7 0.2 24,331 24,694 24,704 22,838 6.5

 Computers and electronic products........ 18,497 18,851 18,686 -1.9 0.9 0.0 18,157 18,758 18,755 17,414 4.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................... 7,123 7,008 7,017 1.6 -0.1 0.1 6,996 6,939 7,010 6,715 4.2

 Transportation equipment..................... 32,058 32,398 32,719 -1.0 -1.0 -0.9 31,771 32,324 32,496 31,985 -0.7

 Furniture and related products............... 3,792 3,728 3,767 1.7 -1.0 0.4 3,774 3,709 3,752 3,576 5.5

 Miscellaneous products......................... 7,981 7,856 7,847 1.6 0.1 0.1 7,891 7,836 7,888 7,636 3.3

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 90,657 90,700 89,832 0.0 1.0 -0.1 89,925 90,555 90,176 86,075 4.5

 Food products.................................... 18,838 18,836 19,026 0.0 -1.0 -2.1 19,000 19,485 19,770 19,768 -3.9

 Beverage and tobacco products................... 5,880 5,957 5,889 -1.3 1.2 1.7 5,962 6,039 5,981 5,894 1.2

 Textiles.............................................. 1,139 1,136 1,134 0.3 0.2 -0.9 1,130 1,123 1,125 1,122 0.7

 Textile products................................... 1,274 1,263 1,263 0.9 0.0 -0.3 1,266 1,257 1,252 1,264 0.2

 Apparel............................................. 507 495 500 2.4 -1.0 -1.4 497 488 513 560 -11.3

 Leather and allied products.................... 226 228 229 -0.9 -0.4 2.7 228 224 231 231 -1.3

 Paper products.................................... 7,842 7,842 7,784 0.0 0.7 0.4 7,844 7,812 7,710 7,766 1.0

 Printing ............................................. 2,667 2,659 2,633 0.3 1.0 0.6 2,617 2,661 2,671 2,644 -1.0

 Petroleum and coal products................. 12,134 12,179 11,677 -0.4 4.3 -1.6 11,807 12,055 11,812 9,622 22.7

 Chemical products................................ 29,568 29,538 29,199 0.1 1.2 0.9 29,141 28,981 28,735 27,205 7.1

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 10,582 10,567 10,498 0.1 0.7 0.8 10,433 10,430 10,376 9,999 4.3

WORK IN PROCESS

 All manufacturing industries....................... 210,312 208,613 206,948 0.8 0.8 0.7 204,644 209,791 209,029 193,466 5.8

 Durable goods industries.......................... 155,143 154,561 153,895 0.4 0.4 0.7 150,296 154,800 153,996 144,890 3.7

 Wood products................................... 2,103 2,059 2,016 2.1 2.1 1.3 2,044 2,024 1,990 1,948 4.9

 Nonmetallic mineral products................. 1,522 1,503 1,491 1.3 0.8 -0.3 1,440 1,419 1,418 1,404 2.6

 Primary metals.................................... 10,145 9,907 9,892 2.4 0.2 0.4 9,741 9,840 9,896 8,728 11.6

 Fabricated metal products........................ 13,580 13,630 13,399 -0.4 1.7 0.2 13,270 13,699 13,447 12,428 6.8

 Machinery.......................................... 21,570 21,584 21,307 -0.1 1.3 -0.4 20,419 22,188 21,488 19,480 4.8

 Computers and electronic products........ 14,104 14,012 13,874 0.7 1.0 0.4 13,348 13,788 13,774 13,065 2.2

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................... 3,970 3,934 3,935 0.9 0.0 1.2 3,789 3,872 3,897 3,605 5.1

 Transportation equipment..................... 83,212 83,017 83,139 0.2 -0.1 1.0 81,457 83,050 83,232 79,802 2.1

 Furniture and related products............... 1,219 1,241 1,193 -1.8 4.0 1.4 1,213 1,235 1,188 1,084 11.9

 Miscellaneous products......................... 3,718 3,674 3,649 1.2 0.7 2.1 3,575 3,685 3,666 3,346 6.8

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 55,169 54,052 53,053 2.1 1.9 0.7 54,348 54,991 55,033 48,576 11.9

 Food products.................................... 6,855 6,756 6,653 1.5 1.5 4.7 7,485 7,782 7,908 6,513 14.9

 Beverage and tobacco products................... 8,968 8,826 8,750 1.6 0.9 -1.3 9,412 9,287 9,378 8,934 5.4

 Textiles.............................................. 694 691 684 0.4 1.0 0.6 670 685 688 630 6.3

 Textile products................................... 412 416 415 -1.0 0.2 0.7 390 416 417 390 0.0

 Apparel............................................. 329 324 327 1.5 -0.9 -0.3 305 320 329 309 -1.3

 Leather and allied products.................... 84 85 80 -1.2 6.3 -4.8 82 84 78 93 -11.8

 Paper products.................................... 1,267 1,251 1,233 1.3 1.5 3.2 1,237 1,239 1,217 1,258 -1.7

 Printing ............................................. 1,057 1,052 1,030 0.5 2.1 -2.5 986 1,042 1,105 1,005 -1.9

 Petroleum and coal products................. 13,689 13,069 12,455 4.7 4.9 1.1 12,759 12,941 12,749 10,098 26.4

 Chemical products................................ 18,508 18,274 18,167 1.3 0.6 0.0 17,834 17,901 17,944 16,314 9.3

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 3,306 3,308 3,259 -0.1 1.5 0.7 3,188 3,294 3,220 3,032 5.1

FINISHED GOODS

 All manufacturing industries....................... 232,028 230,248 229,558 0.8 0.3 0.5 223,676 230,410 230,608 218,008 2.6

 Durable goods industries.......................... 115,455 114,527 114,248 0.8 0.2 0.0 111,083 114,694 114,270 106,231 4.6

 Wood products................................... 4,935 4,950 4,983 -0.3 -0.7 0.5 4,753 4,857 4,781 4,537 4.8

 Nonmetallic mineral products................. 6,600 6,592 6,522 0.1 1.1 0.4 6,408 6,289 6,254 6,059 5.8

 Primary metals.................................... 11,339 11,575 11,449 -2.0 1.1 2.2 11,306 11,306 11,198 10,302 9.7

 Fabricated metal products........................ 18,946 18,752 18,583 1.0 0.9 0.9 18,467 18,372 18,311 17,163 7.6

 Machinery.......................................... 23,760 23,617 23,712 0.6 -0.4 -0.1 23,071 23,698 23,471 21,920 5.3

 Computers and electronic products........ 12,861 12,475 12,608 3.1 -1.1 0.2 12,255 12,913 12,962 11,488 6.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................... 7,035 6,968 6,867 1.0 1.5 0.7 6,543 6,869 6,900 5,918 10.6

 Transportation equipment..................... 15,542 15,142 15,049 2.6 0.6 -3.4 14,222 15,692 15,655 15,100 -5.8

 Furniture and related products............... 2,962 2,937 2,907 0.9 1.0 0.9 2,764 2,958 2,893 2,501 10.5

 Miscellaneous products......................... 11,475 11,519 11,568 -0.4 -0.4 -0.2 11,294 11,740 11,845 11,243 0.5

 Nondurable goods industries...................... 116,573 115,721 115,310 0.7 0.4 1.0 112,593 115,716 116,338 111,777 0.7

 Food products.................................... 29,940 29,755 29,741 0.6 0.0 -0.2 28,753 30,234 31,149 28,617 0.5

 Beverage and tobacco products................... 8,917 8,814 8,742 1.2 0.8 1.7 8,444 8,693 8,758 8,395 0.6

 Textiles.............................................. 1,486 1,466 1,458 1.4 0.5 1.1 1,465 1,443 1,461 1,367 7.2

 Textile products................................... 1,761 1,757 1,764 0.2 -0.4 0.4 1,713 1,741 1,760 1,628 5.2

 Apparel............................................. 1,236 1,210 1,208 2.1 0.2 -1.9 1,136 1,142 1,245 1,061 7.1

 Leather and allied products.................... 474 472 474 0.4 -0.4 -1.5 455 472 470 446 2.0

 Paper products.................................... 6,571 6,590 6,553 -0.3 0.6 -0.8 6,489 6,471 6,456 6,564 -1.1

 Printing ............................................. 1,796 1,768 1,746 1.6 1.3 0.3 1,743 1,777 1,792 1,696 2.8

 Petroleum and coal products................. 15,535 15,246 14,812 1.9 2.9 4.0 15,514 15,447 14,823 14,091 10.1

 Chemical products................................ 36,541 36,493 36,670 0.1 -0.5 1.6 35,030 36,317 36,414 36,569 -4.2

 Plastics and rubber products.................. 12,316 12,150 12,142 1.4 0.1 0.2 11,851 11,979 12,010 11,343 4.5

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. 

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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.
Table 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 Dec Nov Oct Sep Dec Nov Oct Sep

2017p 2017r 2017 2017 2017p 2017r 2017 2017

All manufacturing industries3

............................ 1.35 1.35 1.36 1.37 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Durable goods industries3

.................................. 1.65 1.65 1.67 1.68 6.59 6.58 6.68 6.68

 Wood products.............................................. 1.26 1.26 1.26 1.27 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Nonmetallic mineral products......................... 1.23 1.25 1.25 1.27 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Primary metals.............................................. 1.65 1.69 1.71 1.72 1.53 1.55 1.55 1.57

 Fabricated metal products.............................. 1.53 1.54 1.54 1.55 2.51 2.54 2.54 2.54

 Machinery..................................................... 2.15 2.15 2.14 2.16 3.52 3.51 3.52 3.50

 Computers and electronic products3

................ 1.62 1.62 1.63 1.63 5.42 5.45 5.55 5.60

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components........................................ 1.77 1.76 1.75 1.75 2.46 2.46 2.44 2.44

 Transportation equipment.............................. 1.62 1.60 1.65 1.65 14.60 14.36 14.87 14.64

 Furniture and related products........................ 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.65

 Miscellaneous products.................................. 1.75 1.78 1.79 1.80 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Nondurable goods industries............................. 1.05 1.05 1.06 1.07 (X) (X) (X) (X)

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

 Beverage and tobacco products...................... 1.85 1.86 1.84 1.82 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Textiles........................................................ 1.25 1.24 1.23 1.25 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Textile products............................................ 1.51 1.50 1.53 1.55 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Apparel......................................................... 1.93 1.92 1.97 2.00 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Leather and allied products............................. 2.11 2.07 2.02 2.06 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Paper products.............................................. 0.96 0.96 0.95 0.96 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Printing......................................................... 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.87 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Petroleum and coal products........................... 0.82 0.82 0.83 0.85 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Chemical products......................................... 1.25 1.25 1.27 1.27 (X) (X) (X) (X)

 Plastics and rubber products........................... 1.28 1.29 1.29 1.29 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Dec3 Dec3 Dec3 Dec3

Industry 2016- 2016- 2016- 2016-

Dec2 Nov Dec2 Nov Dec2 Nov Dec2 Nov

2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017

 

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

Durable goods industries....................... -0.1 0.2 -0.1 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0

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

 Nonmetallic mineral products.............. (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.1

 Primary metals.................................... 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 -0.1 0.3

 Fabricated metal products.................... -0.2 0.3 0.2 1.0 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.2

 Machinery.......................................... 0.0 0.3 -0.2 0.6 -0.2 0.2 -0.1 0.1

 Computers and electronic products..... 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.7 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1

 Electrical equipment, appliances,

 and components............................. 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.6 -0.1 0.3 -0.2 0.2

 Transportation equipment.................... -0.3 0.2 -0.3 0.8 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1

 Furniture and related products............. (X) 0.4 (X) 0.8 (X) 0.4 (X) 0.2

 Miscellaneous products...................... (X) 0.2 (X) 0.2 (X) 0.3 (X) 0.1

Nondurable goods industries................... (X) 0.2 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Food products................................... (X) 0.4 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Beverage and tobacco products............ (X) 0.4 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Textiles............................................. (X) 0.4 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.1

 Textile products.................................. (X) 0.6 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Apparel.............................................. (X) 1.1 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.6

 Leather and allied products.................... (X) 0.4 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.3

 Paper products.................................... (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Printing.............................................. (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Petroleum and coal products................. (X) 0.6 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 1.3

 Chemical products................................ (X) 0.3 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.2

 Plastics and rubber products................. (X) 0.2 (X) (NA) (X) (NA) (X) 0.1

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, December Full Report, February 2, 2018. 

Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 

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, December Full Report, February 

2, 2018. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.

Table 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