FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2010, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Jessica Young 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (10)-11 

CB10-191

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

November 2010 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

November decreased $2.6 billion or 1.3 percent to 

$193.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

today. This decrease, down three of the last four 

months, followed a 3.1 percent October decrease. 

Excluding transportation, new orders increased 2.4 

percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 2.3 

percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down three of the last 

four months, had the largest decrease, $6.2 billion or 

11.9 percent to $45.5 billion. This was due to 

nondefense aircraft and parts, which decreased $6.6 

billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

November, also down three of the last four months, 

decreased $0.7 billion or 0.3 percent to $195.8 billion. 

This followed a 1.0 percent October decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, down four consecutive 

months, had the largest decrease, $1.6 billion or 3.3 

percent to $46.5 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

November, up ten of the last eleven months, increased 

$3.4 billion or 0.4 percent to $825.7 billion. This 

followed a 0.7 percent October increase. 

 Machinery, up ten consecutive months, had the largest 

increase, $2.1 billion or 2.0 percent to $106.3 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

November, up eleven consecutive months, increased 

$1.9 billion or 0.6 percent to $319.1 billion. This 

followed a 0.6 percent October increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up eleven consecutive 

months, had the largest increase, $1.1 billion or 1.3 

percent to $84.3 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in November 

decreased $4.9 billion or 6.8 percent to $66.1 billion. 

Shipments decreased slightly to $64.8 billion. Unfilled 

orders increased $1.3 billion or 0.3 percent to $505.3 

billion. Inventories increased $0.7 billion or 0.5 percent 

to $135.2 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in November 

increased $1.2 billion or 16.3 percent to $8.8 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.1 billion or 1.2 percent to $8.8 

billion. Unfilled orders increased slightly to $139.4 

billion. Inventories increased $0.4 billion or 2.0 percent 

to $17.7 billion. 

Revised October Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted October figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $420.3 

billion (revised from $420.1 billion); shipments, $420.5 

billion (revised from $421.0 billion); unfilled orders, 

$822.3 billion (revised from $821.6 billion); and total 

inventories, $538.5 billion (revised from $538.2 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 January 4, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The advance report on durable goods for December is scheduled for release on January 27, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. EST. See back page for

survey description and 2011 release schedule. 
 2

Table 1. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders1

[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 

Nov Oct Sep Oct - Sep - Aug - Nov Oct Nov Change

2010 2 2010 r 2010 Nov 2 Oct r Sep 2010 2 2010 r 2009 2010 2009 10/09

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments ................................ 195,814 196,479 198,431 -0.3 -1.0 0.0 191,227 202,698 181,812 2,154,697 2,004,550 7.5

 New Orders 4

.............................. 193,708 196,328 202,576 -1.3 -3.1 4.9 185,445 197,209 168,044 2,110,645 1,847,345 14.3

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 149,326 148,409 149,539 0.6 -0.8 0.2 144,975 152,656 132,001 1,621,854 1,480,556 9.5

 New Orders 4

.............................. 148,209 144,666 147,455 2.4 -1.9 1.1 141,395 144,967 125,445 1,585,525 1,393,528 13.8

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 184,404 185,107 186,239 -0.4 -0.6 -0.2 179,785 191,606 167,718 2,018,221 1,858,664 8.6

 New Orders 4

.............................. 182,011 186,331 189,244 -2.3 -1.5 4.4 175,230 188,223 158,060 1,978,672 1,718,811 15.1

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 143,351 142,808 144,009 0.4 -0.8 0.2 139,251 144,963 132,128 1,567,225 1,455,959 7.6

 New Orders .............................. 146,717 148,751 154,856 -1.4 -3.9 6.8 139,229 147,671 123,179 1,588,343 1,352,455 17.4

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 20,724 20,094 20,024 3.1 0.3 0.6 19,369 20,543 15,505 220,340 165,874 32.8

 New Orders.............................. 21,497 20,871 20,331 3.0 2.7 2.0 20,172 20,150 15,286 223,427 162,030 37.9

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 27,325 27,275 27,293 0.2 -0.1 -0.1 26,313 28,294 24,954 301,201 287,268 4.9

 New Orders.............................. 27,472 26,941 27,305 2.0 -1.3 -0.8 25,991 27,358 24,720 301,676 277,089 8.9

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 24,997 24,681 25,518 1.3 -3.3 1.4 23,304 24,550 20,818 269,104 251,228 7.1

 New Orders.............................. 27,096 26,960 27,740 0.5 -2.8 2.9 25,037 27,244 20,381 288,316 238,351 21.0

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 33,468 33,741 34,397 -0.8 -1.9 0.4 33,728 35,637 30,670 360,591 322,716 11.7

 New Orders .............................. 28,318 26,758 29,044 5.8 -7.9 2.0 27,133 26,148 24,651 295,255 264,371 11.7

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 6,592 6,468 6,673 1.9 -3.1 1.8 6,177 6,842 5,097 66,183 56,531 17.1

 New Orders.............................. 6,914 6,319 6,813 9.4 -7.3 3.1 6,499 6,693 5,416 66,457 56,157 18.3

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,465 3,328 3,402 4.1 -2.2 -1.9 3,760 2,967 3,943 38,401 40,008 -4.0

 New Orders.............................. 3,292 3,132 3,622 5.1 -13.5 -8.8 2,923 2,811 3,243 37,305 40,074 -6.9

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,698 9,670 9,554 0.3 1.2 -0.9 9,548 9,762 8,839 104,802 98,747 6.1

 New Orders.............................. 10,462 9,906 10,109 5.6 -2.0 0.7 10,181 9,858 8,971 109,660 97,335 12.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 46,488 48,070 48,892 -3.3 -1.7 -0.5 46,252 50,042 49,811 532,843 523,994 1.7

 New Orders.............................. 45,499 51,662 55,121 -11.9 -6.3 16.5 44,050 52,242 42,599 525,120 453,817 15.7

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 29,294 30,064 30,420 -2.6 -1.2 -0.7 29,274 33,017 29,497 331,764 302,325 9.7

 New Orders.............................. 29,455 30,342 30,612 -2.9 -0.9 -0.2 29,547 33,313 29,331 331,035 300,402 10.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 6,558 7,176 7,002 -8.6 2.5 -6.1 6,564 6,367 7,668 74,589 84,998 -12.2

 New Orders.............................. 5,809 12,382 13,328 -53.1 -7.1 112.6 5,327 10,548 4,318 79,530 40,495 96.4

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,880 4,798 5,072 1.7 -5.4 1.9 4,726 4,662 5,680 56,647 58,904 -3.8

 New Orders.............................. 5,110 4,737 6,266 7.9 -24.4 29.7 4,636 4,366 4,357 56,283 54,322 3.6

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 33,114 32,948 32,753 0.5 0.6 -0.7 32,713 33,870 31,215 365,816 354,723 3.1

 New Orders.............................. 33,364 33,230 32,926 0.4 0.9 -0.1 32,881 34,209 31,436 367,191 354,352 3.6

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 73,607 73,743 74,847 -0.2 -1.5 0.7 71,793 72,813 69,098 800,328 766,000 4.5

 New Orders.............................. 74,956 78,580 84,516 -4.6 -7.0 11.6 70,668 76,257 61,060 815,405 677,416 20.4

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 64,831 64,863 65,106 0.0 -0.4 -0.2 62,864 64,116 57,449 691,325 647,615 6.7

 New Orders.............................. 66,142 70,999 74,093 -6.8 -4.2 11.6 63,194 69,490 53,107 711,590 574,783 23.8

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 61,174 60,566 61,293 1.0 -1.2 1.0 59,095 60,454 52,574 647,991 593,981 9.1

 New Orders.......................... 63,444 61,845 64,176 2.6 -3.6 1.8 60,514 61,942 51,696 663,440 567,737 16.9

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,776 8,880 9,741 -1.2 -8.8 6.8 8,929 8,697 11,649 109,003 118,385 -7.9

 New Orders.............................. 8,814 7,581 10,423 16.3 -27.3 11.3 7,474 6,767 7,953 103,815 102,633 1.2

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 Inventories1

[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 

Nov Oct Sep Oct - Sep - Aug - Nov Oct Nov 2010/

2010 2 2010 r 2010 Nov 2 Oct r Sep 2010 2 2010 r 2009 2009

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 825,680 822,314 816,371 0.4 0.7 1.3 813,804 813,826 789,146 3.1

 Total Inventories....................... 319,064 317,198 315,405 0.6 0.6 0.7 321,161 318,319 297,390 8.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 342,636 338,281 335,930 1.3 0.7 1.4 338,570 336,390 309,364 9.4

 Total Inventories....................... 234,764 234,013 232,558 0.3 0.6 0.4 235,803 234,583 220,584 6.9

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 671,959 668,880 661,562 0.5 1.1 1.5 664,755 663,550 638,184 4.2

 Total Inventories....................... 296,003 294,507 292,724 0.5 0.6 0.9 298,128 295,527 274,120 8.8

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 825,680 822,314 816,371 0.4 0.7 1.3 813,804 813,826 789,146 3.1

 Total Inventories....................... 259,945 258,302 256,578 0.6 0.7 0.8 261,771 259,479 240,526 8.8

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 20,372 19,599 18,822 3.9 4.1 1.7 19,458 18,655 16,092 20.9

 Total Inventories....................... 31,354 31,006 30,593 1.1 1.3 0.0 31,398 31,243 27,036 16.1

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 53,925 53,778 54,112 0.3 -0.6 0.0 52,549 52,871 51,934 1.2

 Total Inventories....................... 42,402 42,139 41,850 0.6 0.7 -0.5 42,118 41,956 39,464 6.7

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 106,268 104,169 101,890 2.0 2.2 2.2 106,378 104,645 87,581 21.5

 Total Inventories....................... 52,789 52,447 51,983 0.7 0.9 0.5 53,429 52,342 50,742 5.3

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 122,864 122,542 123,431 0.3 -0.7 1.1 121,343 122,178 120,201 1.0

 Total Inventories....................... 45,900 46,075 45,824 -0.4 0.5 0.8 46,627 46,566 44,001 6.0

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 5,645 5,323 5,472 6.0 -2.7 2.6 5,645 5,323 5,144 9.7

 Total Inventories....................... 4,588 4,724 4,595 -2.9 2.8 -3.1 4,760 4,765 4,555 4.5

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 28,066 28,239 28,435 -0.6 -0.7 0.8 27,678 28,515 28,578 -3.1

 Total Inventories....................... 8,389 8,341 8,227 0.6 1.4 1.6 8,590 8,372 7,704 11.5

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 26,325 25,561 25,325 3.0 0.9 2.2 25,959 25,326 21,877 18.7

 Total Inventories....................... 14,887 14,905 14,834 -0.1 0.5 1.3 14,782 14,908 13,326 10.9

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 483,044 484,033 480,441 -0.2 0.7 1.3 475,234 477,436 479,782 -0.9

 Total Inventories....................... 84,300 83,185 82,847 1.3 0.4 1.6 85,358 83,736 76,806 11.1

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 14,151 13,990 13,712 1.2 2.0 1.4 13,919 13,646 14,305 -2.7

 Total Inventories....................... 21,643 21,384 21,209 1.2 0.8 0.2 21,895 21,308 18,001 21.6

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 332,778 333,527 328,321 -0.2 1.6 2.0 328,506 329,743 321,515 2.2

 Total Inventories....................... 39,965 39,507 39,219 1.2 0.7 3.8 40,735 39,969 34,673 17.5

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 48,929 48,699 48,760 0.5 -0.1 2.5 47,384 47,474 46,451 2.0

 Total Inventories....................... 12,133 11,861 11,905 2.3 -0.4 -1.0 12,096 11,983 12,077 0.2

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 12,882 12,632 12,350 2.0 2.3 1.4 12,883 12,715 11,679 10.3

 Total Inventories....................... 47,432 47,441 47,474 0.0 -0.1 0.6 47,449 47,568 46,015 3.1

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 644,683 643,334 638,497 0.2 0.8 1.5 635,529 636,654 616,881 3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 152,945 151,933 150,966 0.7 0.6 1.3 154,969 152,588 143,946 7.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 505,332 504,021 497,885 0.3 1.2 1.8 500,434 500,104 478,963 4.5

 Total Inventories....................... 135,247 134,585 133,619 0.5 0.7 1.7 137,262 135,261 126,020 8.9

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 203,534 201,264 199,985 1.1 0.6 1.5 202,311 200,892 187,622 7.8

 Total Inventories................... 103,611 103,307 102,628 0.3 0.7 0.7 104,984 103,647 99,359 5.7

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 139,351 139,313 140,612 0.0 -0.9 0.5 135,095 136,550 137,918 -2.0

 Total Inventories....................... 17,698 17,348 17,347 2.0 0.0 -1.6 17,707 17,327 17,926 -1.2

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
4 

Survey Description 

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

(M3) survey. This survey provides statistics on manufacturers' value of shipments, new orders (net of cancellations), 

end-of-month order backlog (unfilled orders), end-of-month total inventory (at current cost or market value), and 

inventories by stage of fabrication (materials and supplies, work-in-process, 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 64 publication levels. The survey methodology assumes that the month-tomonth changes of the total operations of those companies in the monthly survey effectively represent the month-tomonth 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-tomonth 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.

2011 Release Dates for M3 Survey 

Survey Month Advance Report 8:30 A.M. Full Report 10:00 A.M.

November 2010 Dec. 23, 2010 Jan. 4, 2011 

December 2010 Jan. 27, 2011 Feb. 3, 2011 

January 2011 Feb. 24, 2011 Mar. 4, 2011 

February 2011 Mar. 24, 2011 Mar. 31, 2011 

March 2011 Apr. 27, 2011 May 3, 2011 

April 2011 May 25, 2011 Jun. 2, 2011 

May 2011 Jun. 24, 2011 Jul. 5, 2011 

June 2011 Jul. 27, 2011 Aug. 3, 2011 

July 2011 Aug. 24, 2011 Aug. 31, 2011 

August 2011 Sep. 28, 2011 Oct. 4, 2011 

September 2011 Oct. 26, 2011 Nov. 3, 2011 

October 2011 Nov. 23, 2011 Dec. 5, 2011 

November 2011 Dec. 23, 2011