FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (12)-8 

CB12-179

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

August 2012 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in August 

decreased $30.1 billion or 13.2 percent to $198.5 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

decrease, down following three consecutive monthly 

increases, was the largest decrease since January 2009 

and followed a 3.3 percent July increase. Excluding 

transportation, new orders decreased 1.6 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 12.4 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, down following four 

consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, 

$27.8 billion or 34.9 percent to $51.9 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, 

down two of the last three months, decreased $6.8 

billion or 3.0 percent to $222.5 billion. This was also 

the largest decrease since January 2009 and followed a 

1.9 percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, down two of the last three 

months, had the largest decrease, $5.5 billion or 7.9 

percent to $63.9 billion. This followed a 7.9 percent 

July increase. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

August, down following two consecutive monthly 

increases, decreased $16.9 billion or 1.7 percent to 

$978.7 billion. This was the largest decrease since 

December 2009 and followed a 0.7 percent July 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also down following two 

consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, 

$12.0 billion or 2.1 percent to $568.6 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in August, 

up thirty-one of the last thirty-two months, increased 

$2.2 billion or 0.6 percent to $371.6 billion. This was at 

the highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.8 percent July 

increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up thirty-one of the last 

thirty-two months, had the largest increase, $1.6 billion 

or 1.4 percent to $112.1 billion. This was also at the 

highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $18.5 billion or 24.3 percent to $57.7 billion. 

Shipments decreased $1.2 billion or 1.7 percent to $69.5 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $11.9 billion or 2.0 

percent to $580.5 billion. Inventories increased $1.5 

billion or 0.9 percent to $171.9 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $4.1 billion or 40.1 percent to $6.1 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.1 billion or 1.7 percent to $8.1 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $2.0 billion or 1.2 

percent to $165.6 billion. Inventories increased $0.4 

billion or 1.8 percent to $21.4 billion. 

Revised July Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted July figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $476.5 

billion (revised from $478.6 billion); shipments, $477.2 

billion (revised from $478.8 billion); unfilled orders, 

$995.7 billion (revised from $996.6 billion); and total 

inventories, $607.5 billion (revised from $607.3 billion). 

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

semiconductor manufacturing. For data, call (301) 763-4673 or go to <http://www.census.gov/m3>.

Revised and more detailed estimates, plus nondurable goods data, will be published on October 4, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for September is scheduled for release on October 25, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. See back page for survey description. To receive the latest updates on the Nation's key economic indicators, download the America's Economy app 

for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. 
 2

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item Percent

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug Change

2012 2 2012 r 2012 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2012 2 2012 r 2011 2012 2011 12/11

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 222,454 229,270 225,011 -3.0 1.9 0.0 232,255 209,274 222,584 1,784,776 1,649,174 8.2

 New Orders4

.............................. 198,494 228,623 221,368 -13.2 3.3 1.6 203,184 204,917 219,009 1,733,559 1,642,884 5.5

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 158,541 159,907 160,704 -0.9 -0.5 0.4 164,343 156,741 161,137 1,280,245 1,196,585 7.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 146,608 148,929 150,895 -1.6 -1.3 -2.2 148,357 142,123 151,487 1,225,532 1,173,216 4.5

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 211,642 218,778 213,824 -3.3 2.3 -0.2 221,496 200,042 211,749 1,700,560 1,559,832 9.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 189,726 216,480 206,693 -12.4 4.7 -0.7 196,129 195,691 209,064 1,651,256 1,547,013 6.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 156,283 159,976 157,432 -2.3 1.6 -0.2 162,625 145,872 156,724 1,256,167 1,165,845 7.7

 New Orders.............................. 139,363 166,979 161,449 -16.5 3.4 2.4 140,491 151,683 160,146 1,261,018 1,212,977 4.0

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 28,014 28,169 27,961 -0.6 0.7 -1.5 29,581 27,564 27,698 233,846 199,149 17.4

 New Orders.............................. 27,000 27,480 26,996 -1.7 1.8 -1.5 28,258 26,840 27,798 228,883 199,038 15.0

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 27,145 27,159 27,360 -0.1 -0.7 -0.6 29,415 26,560 28,866 221,204 209,608 5.5

 New Orders.............................. 27,535 27,646 27,720 -0.4 -0.3 -1.6 28,914 26,613 28,307 226,862 215,088 5.5

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 32,679 32,810 33,278 -0.4 -1.4 4.2 33,072 31,575 31,662 257,969 233,551 10.5

 New Orders.............................. 28,165 29,567 31,514 -4.7 -6.2 -2.5 27,120 28,235 30,805 252,487 257,648 -2.0

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,628 28,772 29,023 -4.0 -0.9 0.2 26,833 28,715 28,461 221,583 222,108 -0.2

 New Orders.............................. 20,846 21,570 21,744 -3.4 -0.8 -4.9 19,275 18,443 20,526 170,717 166,438 2.6

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,705 2,930 2,827 -7.7 3.6 -3.8 2,412 2,466 2,875 21,369 22,588 -5.4

 New Orders.............................. 2,761 2,844 2,841 -2.9 0.1 -5.0 2,468 2,380 2,865 21,377 22,482 -4.9

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,096 2,996 3,080 3.3 -2.7 -6.6 2,959 2,640 3,100 23,809 25,384 -6.2

 New Orders.............................. 3,030 3,263 3,378 -7.1 -3.4 -7.1 2,919 2,739 3,127 26,262 23,511 11.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,904 9,928 9,996 -0.2 -0.7 -0.4 10,322 9,399 10,346 79,484 76,885 3.4

 New Orders.............................. 9,909 9,547 9,778 3.8 -2.4 -4.6 10,227 9,044 10,621 79,934 79,390 0.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 63,913 69,363 64,307 -7.9 7.9 -1.0 67,912 52,533 61,447 504,531 452,589 11.5

 New Orders.............................. 51,886 79,694 70,473 -34.9 13.1 10.8 54,827 62,794 67,522 508,027 469,668 8.2

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 43,663 49,186 43,956 -11.2 11.9 -0.6 47,771 35,628 42,195 346,674 305,441 13.5

 New Orders.............................. 43,760 49,140 43,851 -10.9 12.1 -0.7 47,521 35,516 41,947 345,348 304,922 13.3

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 9,129 9,757 9,176 -6.4 6.3 -4.9 9,047 7,989 8,373 72,216 58,906 22.6

 New Orders.............................. -346 19,199 12,708 -101.8 51.1 32.5 33 18,564 15,061 82,919 74,107 11.9

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,550 4,331 4,646 5.1 -6.8 -0.4 4,532 3,661 4,296 35,624 35,905 -0.8

 New Orders.............................. 4,190 4,557 5,143 -8.1 -11.4 23.7 3,238 3,560 4,745 35,497 38,700 -8.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 33,171 33,069 33,086 0.3 -0.1 -0.6 35,120 32,928 34,104 266,159 255,284 4.3

 New Orders.............................. 33,153 33,119 33,143 0.1 -0.1 -0.3 34,563 32,948 33,430 266,649 255,614 4.3

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 77,659 79,022 79,374 -1.7 -0.4 0.9 77,709 73,053 77,154 617,668 580,193 6.5

 New Orders.............................. 63,751 86,352 84,619 -26.2 2.0 8.1 60,829 78,949 81,709 627,975 621,620 1.0

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 69,543 70,765 70,713 -1.7 0.1 0.8 69,623 65,675 68,582 552,429 508,329 8.7

 New Orders.............................. 57,684 76,216 72,741 -24.3 4.8 2.4 55,981 70,999 73,675 563,987 543,007 3.9

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 63,487 64,076 64,815 -0.9 -1.1 1.4 63,443 60,215 63,260 505,551 474,004 6.7

 New Orders.......................... 61,065 60,388 63,667 1.1 -5.2 -2.7 58,606 55,671 61,719 507,779 496,144 2.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,116 8,257 8,661 -1.7 -4.7 1.9 8,086 7,378 8,572 65,239 71,864 -9.2

 New Orders.............................. 6,067 10,136 11,878 -40.1 -14.7 64.3 4,848 7,950 8,034 63,988 78,613 -18.6

r

 Revised data due to late receipts and concurrent seasonal adjustment.

1

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

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

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

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

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

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

3

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

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

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

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

medical equipment and supplies.

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

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

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

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item Change

Aug Jul Jun Jul - Jun - May - Aug Jul Aug 2012/

2012 2 2012 r 2012 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2012 2 2012 r 2011 2011

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 978,743 995,663 988,660 -1.7 0.7 0.4 970,774 992,908 923,406 5.1

 Total Inventories....................... 371,559 369,361 366,503 0.6 0.8 0.3 375,139 372,494 356,787 5.1

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 410,189 415,082 418,410 -1.2 -0.8 -0.5 406,612 415,661 392,058 3.7

 Total Inventories....................... 259,446 258,842 257,459 0.2 0.5 0.0 261,751 260,759 253,709 3.2

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 789,163 804,039 798,687 -1.9 0.7 0.1 783,172 801,602 731,924 7.0

 Total Inventories....................... 345,425 343,600 340,879 0.5 0.8 0.3 349,091 346,677 330,452 5.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 978,743 995,663 988,660 -1.7 0.7 0.4 970,774 992,908 923,406 5.1

 Total Inventories....................... 301,055 299,200 297,248 0.6 0.7 0.2 304,112 302,209 288,841 5.3

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 31,665 32,679 33,368 -3.1 -2.1 -2.8 31,039 32,362 33,039 -6.1

 Total Inventories....................... 34,179 34,090 34,062 0.3 0.1 -1.0 34,409 34,512 35,536 -3.2

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 83,246 82,856 82,369 0.5 0.6 0.4 83,029 83,530 76,880 8.0

 Total Inventories....................... 45,944 45,884 45,839 0.1 0.1 -0.3 46,289 46,442 45,443 1.9

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 130,075 134,589 137,832 -3.4 -2.4 -1.3 128,980 134,932 127,023 1.5

 Total Inventories....................... 67,074 66,578 65,698 0.7 1.3 0.0 67,593 66,709 60,877 11.0

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 136,803 136,545 136,097 0.2 0.3 0.3 135,314 135,935 128,664 5.2

 Total Inventories....................... 46,130 46,077 46,106 0.1 -0.1 0.6 46,976 46,609 46,979 0.0

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,164 1,108 1,194 5.1 -7.2 1.2 1,164 1,108 1,158 0.5

 Total Inventories....................... 3,959 4,000 3,919 -1.0 2.1 -2.8 4,174 4,073 4,241 -1.6

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 33,780 33,846 33,579 -0.2 0.8 0.9 33,414 33,454 30,529 9.5

 Total Inventories....................... 8,548 8,571 8,560 -0.3 0.1 1.9 8,649 8,597 9,326 -7.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 21,183 21,178 21,559 0.0 -1.8 -1.0 21,178 21,273 19,634 7.9

 Total Inventories....................... 15,404 15,442 15,414 -0.2 0.2 -0.3 15,564 15,656 15,309 1.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 568,554 580,581 570,250 -2.1 1.8 1.1 564,162 577,247 531,348 6.2

 Total Inventories....................... 112,113 110,519 109,044 1.4 1.4 0.9 113,388 111,735 103,078 10.0

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,545 16,448 16,494 0.6 -0.3 -0.6 15,792 16,042 16,024 -1.4

 Total Inventories....................... 25,128 24,875 24,596 1.0 1.1 0.5 25,390 25,136 24,165 5.1

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 398,731 408,206 398,764 -2.3 2.4 0.9 396,460 405,474 356,755 11.1

 Total Inventories....................... 60,273 59,086 58,431 2.0 1.1 1.3 61,155 59,887 53,301 14.7

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 59,975 60,335 60,109 -0.6 0.4 0.8 59,229 60,523 58,932 0.5

 Total Inventories....................... 13,629 13,343 13,221 2.1 0.9 0.1 13,715 13,431 13,048 5.1

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,217 7,235 7,185 -0.2 0.7 0.8 7,072 7,629 6,818 3.7

 Total Inventories....................... 50,715 50,771 50,340 -0.1 0.9 0.4 50,920 50,831 49,565 2.7

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 746,023 759,931 752,601 -1.8 1.0 0.7 739,753 756,633 695,642 6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 193,287 191,448 189,402 1.0 1.1 0.6 195,454 192,790 180,580 8.2

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 580,464 592,323 586,872 -2.0 0.9 0.3 575,673 589,315 527,363 9.2

 Total Inventories....................... 171,897 170,443 168,506 0.9 1.1 0.7 174,236 171,817 159,563 9.2

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 238,160 240,582 244,270 -1.0 -1.5 -0.5 235,635 240,472 223,250 5.5

 Total Inventories................... 121,336 121,051 119,605 0.2 1.2 0.3 122,957 121,764 115,068 6.9

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 165,559 167,608 165,729 -1.2 1.1 2.0 164,080 167,318 168,279 -2.5

 Total Inventories....................... 21,390 21,005 20,896 1.8 0.5 0.3 21,218 20,973 21,017 1.0

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
4 

Survey Description 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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