FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (14)-01 

CB14-32

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

January 2014 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in January 

decreased $2.2 billion or 1.0 percent to $225.0 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

decrease, down three of the last four months, followed a 

5.3 percent December decrease. Excluding 

transportation, new orders increased 1.1 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.8 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down three of the last 

four months, drove the decrease, $4.0 billion or 5.6 

percent to $67.3 billion. This was led by nondefense 

aircraft and parts, which decreased $3.4 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in January, 

down two consecutive months, decreased $0.9 billion or 

0.4 percent to $232.3 billion. This followed a 1.8 

percent December decrease. 

 Machinery, down following five consecutive monthly 

increases, drove the decrease, $0.9 billion or 2.6 percent 

to $34.5 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

January, up eleven of the last twelve months, increased 

$0.6 billion or 0.1 percent to $1,060.1 billion. This was 

at the highest level since the series was first published on 

a NAICS basis in 1992, and followed a 0.2 percent 

December increase. 

 Machinery, up nine of the last ten months, drove the 

increase, $2.0 billion or 1.8 percent to $112.0 billion.

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in January, 

up nine of the last ten months, increased $1.0 billion or 

0.3 percent to $389.1 billion. This was at the highest 

level since the series was first published on a NAICS 

basis, and followed a 0.9 percent December increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up twenty of the last 

twenty-one months, drove the increase, $1.1 billion or 

0.9 percent to $123.0 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in January 

decreased $3.2 billion or 3.9 percent to $78.3 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.8 billion or 1.0 percent to $75.1 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $3.2 billion or 0.5 

percent to $644.7 billion. Inventories increased $0.5 

billion or 0.3 percent to $177.5 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in January 

increased $1.6 billion or 26.3 percent to $7.7 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.2 billion or 1.9 percent to $9.7 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $2.0 billion or 1.3 

percent to $158.8 billion. Inventories decreased $0.4 

billion or 1.7 percent to $22.6 billion. 

Revised December Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted December figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $486.4 

billion (revised from $489.2 billion); shipments, $492.4 

billion (revised from $492.7 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,059.5 billion (revised from $1,061.7 billion); and 

total inventories $637.0 billion (revised from $636.6 

billion). 

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

manufacturing. For data, call (301) 763-4673 or go to <http://www.census.gov/m3>. Revised and more detailed estimates, plus 

nondurable goods data, will be published on March 6, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The Advance Report on durable goods for February is 

scheduled for release on March 26, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. EST. 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. Discover the U.S. Census Bureau’s economic statistics through the Economic Indicator Webinar Series. Each of the 13 economic indicators in this 

webinar series will provide an in-depth description of how the critical economic indicator data are collected and how you can access and 

use these statistics. Sessions include construction, housing, international trade, retail trade and more. For more information, go to 

www.census.gov/econ/webinar. 
 2

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item Percent

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

2014 2 2013 r 2013 Jan 2 Dec r Nov 2014 2 2013 r 2013 2014 2013 2014/2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 232,323 233,177 237,475 -0.4 -1.8 1.4 211,515 229,216 204,561 211,515 204,561 3.4

 New Orders4

.............................. 224,975 227,172 239,981 -1.0 -5.3 2.7 206,933 244,013 202,172 206,933 202,172 2.4

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 164,411 165,195 165,023 -0.5 0.1 1.3 152,486 161,024 148,061 152,486 148,061 3.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 157,685 155,917 158,990 1.1 -1.9 0.2 149,457 154,434 148,924 149,457 148,924 0.4

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 220,348 221,373 224,311 -0.5 -1.3 1.0 201,815 216,262 195,103 201,815 195,103 3.4

 New Orders4

.............................. 215,530 219,497 229,565 -1.8 -4.4 2.9 199,335 229,730 193,286 199,335 193,286 3.1

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 162,961 162,428 164,271 0.3 -1.1 0.2 147,244 163,189 142,839 147,244 142,839 3.1

 New Orders.............................. 163,547 164,132 174,061 -0.4 -5.7 2.4 151,851 184,261 148,261 151,851 148,261 2.4

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 25,680 26,110 26,231 -1.6 -0.5 0.0 25,744 23,456 25,153 25,744 25,153 2.3

 New Orders.............................. 25,330 25,927 26,604 -2.3 -2.5 -0.7 26,748 23,941 25,332 26,748 25,332 5.6

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 28,742 28,765 29,109 -0.1 -1.2 0.1 26,988 26,347 27,210 26,988 27,210 -0.8

 New Orders.............................. 28,208 26,277 28,102 7.3 -6.5 -3.0 26,639 24,982 30,420 26,639 30,420 -12.4

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 34,546 35,480 35,285 -2.6 0.6 3.6 30,818 35,961 30,181 30,818 30,181 2.1

 New Orders.............................. 36,536 36,673 35,777 -0.4 2.5 3.2 35,154 36,236 34,191 35,154 34,191 2.8

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 29,245 28,796 28,088 1.6 2.5 2.4 27,102 31,433 25,211 27,102 25,211 7.5

 New Orders.............................. 21,270 20,315 22,206 4.7 -8.5 0.8 18,285 25,390 18,149 18,285 18,149 0.7

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,477 2,442 2,353 1.4 3.8 6.2 1,715 3,887 1,581 1,715 1,581 8.5

 New Orders.............................. 2,291 2,456 2,372 -6.7 3.5 5.9 1,529 3,901 1,570 1,529 1,570 -2.6

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 4,136 3,796 3,702 9.0 2.5 -6.5 3,378 4,555 3,169 3,378 3,169 6.6

 New Orders.............................. 4,401 4,368 4,640 0.8 -5.9 9.7 3,701 5,340 3,872 3,701 3,872 -4.4

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,311 10,172 10,361 1.4 -1.8 -0.2 9,339 9,818 9,290 9,339 9,290 0.5

 New Orders.............................. 10,536 10,760 10,171 -2.1 5.8 -3.9 10,250 10,217 9,854 10,250 9,854 4.0

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 67,912 67,982 72,452 -0.1 -6.2 1.6 59,029 68,192 56,500 59,029 56,500 4.5

 New Orders.............................. 67,290 71,255 80,991 -5.6 -12.0 8.1 57,476 89,579 53,248 57,476 53,248 7.9

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 43,829 44,784 48,167 -2.1 -7.0 2.0 40,539 39,908 39,528 40,539 39,528 2.6

 New Orders.............................. 43,856 44,851 48,046 -2.2 -6.6 2.2 40,728 40,371 39,578 40,728 39,578 2.9

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 12,065 11,603 11,193 4.0 3.7 -8.3 8,974 15,789 7,756 8,974 7,756 15.7

 New Orders.............................. 13,555 16,987 21,869 -20.2 -22.3 21.1 8,736 34,466 5,646 8,736 5,646 54.7

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,729 4,155 5,535 13.8 -24.9 16.1 3,686 4,794 3,373 3,686 3,373 9.3

 New Orders.............................. 3,874 3,245 4,149 19.4 -21.8 14.0 3,338 6,388 3,714 3,338 3,714 -10.1

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 35,887 35,872 35,949 0.0 -0.2 0.6 32,495 34,009 31,016 32,495 31,016 4.8

 New Orders.............................. 35,805 35,965 36,130 -0.4 -0.5 1.4 32,381 33,668 30,978 32,381 30,978 4.5

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 84,797 85,745 85,719 -1.1 0.0 2.1 72,697 94,711 70,285 72,697 70,285 3.4

 New Orders.............................. 85,978 87,548 95,765 -1.8 -8.6 7.4 74,909 113,001 73,417 74,909 73,417 2.0

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 75,097 75,858 74,873 -1.0 1.3 1.0 64,776 84,065 62,642 64,776 62,642 3.4

 New Orders.............................. 78,312 81,479 87,158 -3.9 -6.5 8.2 68,812 102,044 67,099 68,812 67,099 2.6

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 66,856 67,368 67,135 -0.8 0.3 2.4 59,407 71,762 57,937 59,407 57,937 2.5

 New Orders.......................... 68,758 67,581 68,821 1.7 -1.8 3.0 64,236 72,047 65,355 64,236 65,355 -1.7

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,700 9,887 10,846 -1.9 -8.8 10.5 7,921 10,646 7,643 7,921 7,643 3.6

 New Orders.............................. 7,666 6,069 8,607 26.3 -29.5 -0.2 6,097 10,957 6,318 6,097 6,318 -3.5

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 equipmen

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

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

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item Change

Jan Dec Nov Dec - Nov - Oct - Jan Dec Jan 2014/

2014 2 2013 r 2013 Jan 2 Dec r Nov 2014 2 2013 r 2013 2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,060,117 1,059,531 1,057,827 0.1 0.2 0.9 1,064,824 1,060,217 996,286 6.9

 Total Inventories....................... 389,122 388,090 384,656 0.3 0.9 0.3 388,061 377,694 374,128 3.7

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 403,032 401,824 403,393 0.3 -0.4 0.3 399,978 393,818 380,009 5.3

 Total Inventories....................... 266,135 266,178 263,911 0.0 0.9 0.3 265,491 259,553 261,735 1.4

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 872,135 869,019 863,186 0.4 0.7 1.5 876,022 869,313 786,504 11.4

 Total Inventories....................... 361,235 359,853 357,063 0.4 0.8 0.5 360,111 349,631 347,128 3.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,060,117 1,059,531 1,057,827 0.1 0.2 0.9 1,064,824 1,060,217 996,286 6.9

 Total Inventories....................... 318,879 317,892 314,847 0.3 1.0 0.2 317,739 308,903 304,838 4.2

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 36,365 36,715 36,898 -1.0 -0.5 1.0 37,036 36,032 32,306 14.6

 Total Inventories....................... 35,612 35,459 35,003 0.4 1.3 0.2 35,577 35,086 36,200 -1.7

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 86,553 87,087 89,575 -0.6 -2.8 -1.1 83,474 83,823 82,162 1.6

 Total Inventories....................... 48,284 48,234 47,943 0.1 0.6 0.4 48,137 47,390 46,904 2.6

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 112,015 110,025 108,832 1.8 1.1 0.5 112,039 107,703 105,800 5.9

 Total Inventories....................... 66,255 66,434 66,021 -0.3 0.6 -0.3 66,024 63,873 66,076 -0.1

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 137,586 137,627 138,399 0.0 -0.6 1.0 137,357 136,985 131,411 4.5

 Total Inventories....................... 47,389 47,692 46,972 -0.6 1.5 0.7 47,148 46,459 46,009 2.5

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,203 3,389 3,375 -5.5 0.4 0.6 3,203 3,389 3,216 -0.4

 Total Inventories....................... 4,634 4,724 4,579 -1.9 3.2 2.5 4,515 4,369 4,258 6.0

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 36,007 35,742 35,170 0.7 1.6 2.7 35,850 35,527 31,133 15.2

 Total Inventories....................... 7,635 7,820 7,561 -2.4 3.4 1.6 7,718 7,681 7,643 1.0

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 23,130 22,905 22,317 1.0 2.6 -0.8 23,208 22,297 21,538 7.8

 Total Inventories....................... 16,825 16,783 16,960 0.3 -1.0 -0.6 16,820 16,075 16,830 -0.1

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 657,085 657,707 654,434 -0.1 0.5 1.3 664,846 666,399 616,277 7.9

 Total Inventories....................... 122,987 121,912 120,745 0.9 1.0 0.4 122,570 118,141 112,393 9.1

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,383 16,356 16,289 0.2 0.4 -0.7 16,663 16,474 16,835 -1.0

 Total Inventories....................... 25,714 25,174 25,187 2.1 -0.1 -1.0 26,169 24,428 25,983 0.7

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 489,361 487,871 482,487 0.3 1.1 2.3 495,470 495,708 429,246 15.4

 Total Inventories....................... 69,056 68,297 67,539 1.1 1.1 1.9 68,083 65,567 58,501 16.4

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 62,844 63,699 64,609 -1.3 -1.4 -2.1 64,163 64,511 72,700 -11.7

 Total Inventories....................... 13,334 13,278 12,970 0.4 2.4 -3.1 13,231 13,117 13,236 0.0

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,383 7,465 7,372 -1.1 1.3 2.5 6,864 6,978 6,792 1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 51,770 51,576 51,012 0.4 1.1 0.8 51,785 50,670 49,716 4.2

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 803,485 802,304 800,501 0.1 0.2 1.3 806,632 804,420 744,346 8.4

 Total Inventories....................... 200,126 199,968 197,907 0.1 1.0 0.3 198,625 193,057 189,530 4.8

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 644,692 641,477 635,856 0.5 0.9 2.0 647,882 643,846 567,728 14.1

 Total Inventories....................... 177,509 176,968 175,494 0.3 0.8 0.6 175,842 170,070 167,595 4.9

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 235,647 233,745 233,532 0.8 0.1 0.7 233,449 228,620 215,257 8.5

 Total Inventories................... 120,338 120,625 119,968 -0.2 0.5 0.1 119,757 116,484 120,282 -0.4

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 158,793 160,827 164,645 -1.3 -2.3 -1.3 158,750 160,574 176,618 -10.1

 Total Inventories....................... 22,617 23,000 22,413 -1.7 2.6 -2.5 22,783 22,987 21,935 3.9

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. 

 Notice of Revisions Due to Updated Seasonal Adjustment Models 

On May 15, 2014, monthly seasonally adjusted data for Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders, 

based on the North American Industry Classification System, will be revised for January 1992 through 

March 2014. There will be no accompanying press release containing revised seasonally adjusted data for 

January through March of 2014, and historical data not seasonally adjusted will be unchanged. These 

revisions to the historical seasonally adjusted data will be based on the results of the recent annual review of 

the seasonal adjustment models. These updated models will also be used to produce seasonally adjusted data 

from the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders Survey, beginning with the April 2014 Advance 

Report on Durable Goods scheduled for release on May 27, 2014 and the full report scheduled for release on 

June 3, 2014. 

Please call Chris Savage on (301) 763-4832 with any questions regarding this notice.