FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (13)-08 

CB13-170

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

August 2013 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in August 

increased $0.3 billion or 0.1 percent to $224.9 billion, 

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

up four of the last five months, followed an 8.1 percent 

July decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders 

decreased 0.1 percent. Excluding defense, new orders 

increased 0.5 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also up four of the last five 

months, drove the increase, $0.5 billion or 0.7 percent to 

$67.9 billion. This was driven by Motor vehicles and 

parts, which increased $1.1 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in August, 

up following two consecutive monthly decreases, 

increased $2.1 billion or 0.9 percent to $231.5 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis in 1992, and followed a 0.1 

percent July decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, also up following two 

consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $1.0 

billion or 1.5 percent to $69.7 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

August, up six of the last seven months, increased $0.4 

billion to $1,032.4 billion. This was at the highest level 

since the series was first published on a NAICS basis, 

and followed a 0.2 percent July increase. 

 Machinery, up four of the last five months, drove the 

the increase, $1.3 billion or 1.2 percent to $107.5 billion.

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in August, 

up four of the last five months, increased $0.3 billion or 

0.1 percent to $379.1 billion. This was at the highest 

level since the series was first published on a NAICS 

basis, and followed a 0.3 percent July increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up fifteen of the last sixteen 

months, drove the increase, $0.4 billion or 0.3 percent to 

$117.3 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $0.1 billion or 0.2 percent to $75.9 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.3 billion or 0.4 percent to $73.8 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $2.1 billion or 0.3 

percent to $610.4 billion. Inventories increased $0.7 

billion or 0.4 percent to $172.1 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in August 

decreased $0.6 billion or 6.5 percent to $8.4 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.8 billion or 8.3 percent to $10.1 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $1.8 billion or 1.0 

percent to $167.6 billion. Inventories decreased $0.6 

billion or 2.7 percent to $22.5 billion. 

Revised July Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted July figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $483.6 

billion (revised from $485.0 billion); shipments, $488.3 

billion (revised from $487.6 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,032.0 billion (revised from $1,033.9); and total 

inventories, $629.5 billion (revised from $629.7 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 3, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable 

goods for September is scheduled for release on October 25, 2013, 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. To learn more about this release and the other indicators the U.S. Census Bureau publishes, join us for 

the 2013 Economic Indicator Webinar Series. 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

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

2013 2 2013 r 2013 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2013 2012 2013/2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 231,466 229,353 229,600 0.9 -0.1 -0.1 238,232 214,729 230,260 1,820,864 1,772,549 2.7

 New Orders4

.............................. 224,916 224,638 244,351 0.1 -8.1 3.9 223,156 206,172 203,101 1,798,227 1,727,867 4.1

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 161,728 160,639 160,759 0.7 -0.1 0.1 166,056 158,258 163,222 1,285,532 1,273,202 1.0

 New Orders

4

.............................. 157,007 157,193 157,964 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 156,856 151,148 148,608 1,254,762 1,219,367 2.9

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 219,082 217,650 217,308 0.7 0.2 -0.2 225,926 204,555 218,117 1,726,707 1,677,873 2.9

 New Orders4

.............................. 214,187 213,049 230,337 0.5 -7.5 2.9 214,474 198,104 195,089 1,718,427 1,632,093 5.3

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 162,190 160,678 161,380 0.9 -0.4 -0.4 166,296 150,650 163,067 1,276,769 1,261,882 1.2

 New Orders.............................. 162,558 162,824 182,839 -0.2 -10.9 5.2 158,184 150,533 142,944 1,309,028 1,274,166 2.7

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 25,660 25,442 24,938 0.9 2.0 2.2 26,490 24,973 26,076 203,961 207,046 -1.5

 New Orders.............................. 25,366 25,497 25,536 -0.5 -0.2 -1.4 25,746 24,898 24,263 206,622 201,680 2.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 28,987 28,940 28,859 0.2 0.3 -0.7 30,843 28,566 30,676 232,199 230,027 0.9

 New Orders.............................. 30,219 30,121 29,743 0.3 1.3 0.4 30,711 28,565 29,929 242,713 235,787 2.9

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 33,705 33,585 34,109 0.4 -1.5 -2.0 33,829 32,837 33,840 273,779 265,166 3.2

 New Orders.............................. 35,002 34,705 34,876 0.9 -0.5 0.9 34,063 33,876 29,648 279,001 261,672 6.6

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,576 27,219 27,534 1.3 -1.1 1.1 26,811 26,491 26,729 214,843 224,043 -4.1

 New Orders.............................. 20,775 21,498 22,069 -3.4 -2.6 -0.8 19,132 18,564 19,479 164,184 172,252 -4.7

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,220 2,000 2,393 11.0 -16.4 2.8 1,945 1,482 2,035 16,775 18,599 -9.8

 New Orders.............................. 2,177 2,019 2,334 7.8 -13.5 0.0 1,902 1,501 2,174 16,929 18,655 -9.3

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 4,026 3,960 4,019 1.7 -1.5 -2.4 3,882 3,445 3,569 30,624 28,953 5.8

 New Orders.............................. 4,168 4,242 4,563 -1.7 -7.0 -12.8 4,015 3,377 3,798 33,889 31,391 8.0

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,283 10,287 10,308 0.0 -0.2 -0.9 10,670 9,870 10,628 82,150 82,480 -0.4

 New Orders.............................. 10,098 10,144 10,692 -0.5 -5.1 -0.1 10,280 9,694 10,556 83,243 83,071 0.2

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 69,738 68,714 68,841 1.5 -0.2 -0.5 72,176 56,471 67,038 535,332 499,347 7.2

 New Orders.............................. 67,909 67,445 86,387 0.7 -21.9 11.7 66,300 55,024 54,493 543,465 508,500 6.9

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 45,884 45,015 44,827 1.9 0.4 0.7 48,773 36,684 44,990 356,227 327,334 8.8

 New Orders.............................. 46,032 44,943 44,764 2.4 0.4 0.1 48,768 36,355 44,716 355,762 325,935 9.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 11,514 12,132 11,996 -5.1 1.1 -4.7 11,020 10,057 9,755 85,189 77,867 9.4

 New Orders.............................. 11,232 11,371 27,692 -1.2 -58.9 33.8 8,460 10,838 1,403 108,337 89,384 21.2

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,869 4,399 4,612 10.7 -4.6 -1.2 4,898 3,588 4,673 36,224 36,886 -1.8

 New Orders.............................. 4,479 5,077 5,239 -11.8 -3.1 21.8 3,383 3,840 3,255 28,850 36,567 -21.1

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 35,517 35,166 35,011 1.0 0.4 0.8 37,413 35,521 35,273 278,600 264,440 5.4

 New Orders.............................. 35,547 35,228 35,048 0.9 0.5 0.9 36,924 35,551 34,733 278,999 264,905 5.3

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 83,941 82,852 84,454 1.3 -1.9 -1.4 83,409 76,967 80,630 655,268 642,604 2.0

 New Orders.............................. 84,285 85,000 103,795 -0.8 -18.1 9.0 77,517 76,907 65,577 685,053 659,451 3.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 73,808 73,496 74,524 0.4 -1.4 -1.8 73,344 68,720 71,154 578,842 566,841 2.1

 New Orders.............................. 75,908 76,038 92,049 -0.2 -17.4 6.9 70,576 70,463 59,634 620,400 581,741 6.6

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 65,794 64,926 65,856 1.3 -1.4 -1.0 65,453 61,622 64,273 520,138 514,291 1.1

 New Orders.......................... 68,379 67,370 69,695 1.5 -3.3 1.1 65,167 62,272 60,798 540,157 519,366 4.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 10,133 9,356 9,930 8.3 -5.8 1.7 10,065 8,247 9,476 76,426 75,763 0.9

 New Orders.............................. 8,377 8,962 11,746 -6.5 -23.7 28.6 6,941 6,444 5,943 64,653 77,710 -16.8

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 2013/

2013 2 2013 r 2013 Aug 2 Jul r Jun 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,032,391 1,032,023 1,029,877 0.0 0.2 2.1 1,023,123 1,031,235 967,258 5.8

 Total Inventories....................... 379,084 378,771 377,602 0.1 0.3 0.1 383,191 381,856 375,437 2.1

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 398,237 396,040 392,625 0.6 0.9 1.0 395,461 397,697 380,300 4.0

 Total Inventories....................... 261,804 261,859 261,335 0.0 0.2 0.0 264,365 263,604 264,729 -0.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 833,595 831,572 829,312 0.2 0.3 2.4 827,126 831,614 767,005 7.8

 Total Inventories....................... 351,437 350,275 349,323 0.3 0.3 0.0 355,675 353,288 348,699 2.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,032,391 1,032,023 1,029,877 0.0 0.2 2.1 1,023,123 1,031,235 967,258 5.8

 Total Inventories....................... 310,577 310,275 308,683 0.1 0.5 0.2 314,150 313,296 305,471 2.8

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 35,305 35,599 35,544 -0.8 0.2 1.7 34,788 35,532 32,591 6.7

 Total Inventories....................... 34,892 34,919 34,896 -0.1 0.1 0.2 35,057 35,091 36,282 -3.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 90,021 88,789 87,608 1.4 1.3 1.0 89,466 89,598 79,363 12.7

 Total Inventories....................... 47,364 47,326 47,161 0.1 0.3 0.1 47,626 47,854 47,467 0.3

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 107,507 106,210 105,090 1.2 1.1 0.7 107,012 106,778 110,952 -3.6

 Total Inventories....................... 65,885 65,874 65,536 0.0 0.5 -0.8 66,619 66,123 67,930 -1.9

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 135,965 135,848 134,708 0.1 0.8 0.9 134,899 135,614 128,590 4.9

 Total Inventories....................... 46,374 46,650 46,835 -0.6 -0.4 0.6 47,374 47,224 46,924 1.0

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,381 3,424 3,405 -1.3 0.6 -1.7 3,381 3,424 2,799 20.8

 Total Inventories....................... 4,550 4,585 4,693 -0.8 -2.3 1.4 4,778 4,659 4,652 2.7

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 33,969 33,827 33,545 0.4 0.8 1.6 33,695 33,562 28,977 16.3

 Total Inventories....................... 7,446 7,352 7,454 1.3 -1.4 0.2 7,554 7,358 7,889 -4.2

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 22,069 22,254 22,397 -0.8 -0.6 1.7 22,067 22,457 21,624 2.0

 Total Inventories....................... 16,911 16,828 16,799 0.5 0.2 1.2 17,045 17,003 16,449 3.6

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 634,154 635,983 637,252 -0.3 -0.2 2.8 627,662 633,538 586,958 6.9

 Total Inventories....................... 117,280 116,912 116,267 0.3 0.6 0.4 118,826 118,252 110,708 7.3

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,842 16,694 16,766 0.9 -0.4 -0.4 16,320 16,325 16,478 -1.0

 Total Inventories....................... 25,137 24,965 25,005 0.7 -0.2 -0.4 25,382 25,209 25,943 -2.2

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 458,135 458,417 459,178 -0.1 -0.2 3.5 454,504 457,064 408,825 11.2

 Total Inventories....................... 63,982 63,186 62,699 1.3 0.8 0.5 65,198 64,088 56,990 14.4

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 66,909 67,299 66,621 -0.6 1.0 1.0 64,985 66,500 65,203 -0.3

 Total Inventories....................... 13,464 13,972 13,702 -3.6 2.0 -1.3 13,505 14,066 13,254 1.9

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,370 7,340 7,278 0.4 0.9 0.5 7,229 7,718 7,180 0.7

 Total Inventories....................... 50,378 50,262 50,108 0.2 0.3 0.0 50,644 50,309 49,677 1.9

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 777,933 777,589 775,441 0.0 0.3 2.6 770,999 776,891 722,790 6.7

 Total Inventories....................... 194,624 194,493 193,846 0.1 0.3 0.3 197,469 195,898 190,249 3.8

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 610,356 608,256 605,714 0.3 0.4 3.0 604,829 607,597 552,386 9.5

 Total Inventories....................... 172,112 171,367 170,801 0.4 0.3 0.0 175,129 172,794 168,755 3.8

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 229,758 227,173 224,729 1.1 1.1 1.7 227,858 228,144 215,130 5.9

 Total Inventories................... 119,590 119,561 119,457 0.0 0.1 -0.2 121,455 120,245 122,489 -0.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 167,577 169,333 169,727 -1.0 -0.2 1.1 166,170 169,294 170,404 -2.5

 Total Inventories....................... 22,512 23,126 23,045 -2.7 0.4 2.7 22,340 23,104 21,494 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.