FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2011, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (11)-06 

CB11-129

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

June 2011 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in June 

decreased $4.0 billion or 2.1 percent to $192.0 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

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

1.9 percent May increase. Excluding transportation, new 

orders increased 0.1 percent. Excluding defense, new 

orders decreased 1.8 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down two of the last 

three months, had the largest decrease, $4.2 billion or 

8.5 percent to $45.4 billion. This was due to nondefense 

aircraft and parts which decreased $2.8 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in June, up 

six of the last seven months, increased $1.0 billion or 0.5 

percent to $196.0 billion. This followed a 0.5 percent 

May increase. 

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

largest increase, $0.7 billion or 2.6 percent to $29.1 

billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

June, up fourteen of the last fifteen months, increased 

$2.1 billion or 0.2 percent to $862.7 billion. This 

followed a 0.9 percent May increase. 

 Machinery, up seventeen consecutive months, had the 

largest increase, $2.1 billion or 2.0 percent to $111.2 

billion. This was at the highest level since the series was 

first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 

3.4 percent May increase. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in June, up 

eighteen consecutive months, increased $1.6 billion or 

0.4 percent to $357.2 billion. This was at the highest 

level since the series was first published on a NAICS 

basis and followed a 1.2 percent May increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up eighteen 

consecutive months, had the largest increase, $1.2 billion 

or 1.1 percent to $109.1 billion. This was also at the 

highest level since the series was first published on a 

NAICS basis and followed a 1.7 percent May increase. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in June 

decreased $3.0 billion or 4.1 percent to $69.8 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.7 billion or 1.1 percent to $67.7 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $2.1 billion or 0.4 

percent to $504.7 billion. Inventories increased $2.1 

billion or 1.3 percent to $162.7 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in June 

decreased $0.3 billion or 3.9 percent to $8.6 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.1 billion or 1.6 percent to $7.8 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.9 billion or 0.6 

percent to $150.3 billion. Inventories decreased $0.5 

billion or 2.3 percent to $20.3 billion. 

Revised May Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted May figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $444.9 

billion (revised from $445.3 billion); shipments, $443.9 

billion (unchanged); unfilled orders, $860.6 billion 

(revised from $860.9 billion); and total inventories, 

$592.5 billion (revised from $593.0 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 August 3, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for July is scheduled for release on August 24, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. See back page for survey description. 
 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 

Jun May Apr May - Apr - Mar - Jun May Jun Change

2011 2 2011 r 2011 Jun 2 May r Apr 2011 2 2011 r 2010 2011 2010 11/10

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 196,000 195,049 194,103 0.5 0.5 -1.4 212,357 196,034 197,621 1,162,143 1,080,280 7.6

 New Orders4

.............................. 191,983 196,011 192,350 -2.1 1.9 -2.5 205,182 194,906 191,049 1,160,026 1,060,322 9.4

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 150,177 149,075 147,839 0.7 0.8 -0.7 161,289 150,570 148,512 885,163 814,635 8.7

 New Orders4

.............................. 146,554 146,382 145,432 0.1 0.7 -0.1 156,058 147,607 146,026 874,874 801,469 9.2

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 185,980 184,984 183,930 0.5 0.6 -1.2 201,292 186,150 185,097 1,101,383 1,006,090 9.5

 New Orders4

.............................. 181,051 184,316 181,571 -1.8 1.5 -2.7 193,301 185,155 179,189 1,091,360 985,452 10.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 141,867 140,785 139,538 0.8 0.9 -2.0 154,828 142,325 145,035 838,395 778,842 7.6

 New Orders.............................. 143,974 148,221 144,500 -2.9 2.6 -2.6 152,630 146,873 141,839 873,981 791,766 10.4

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 23,800 23,151 22,569 2.8 2.6 0.2 25,704 24,475 19,827 138,896 109,249 27.1

 New Orders.............................. 23,023 22,792 22,637 1.0 0.7 1.5 24,346 24,109 18,710 139,526 113,209 23.2

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 24,947 24,753 24,616 0.8 0.6 -1.4 26,592 25,438 25,201 146,812 139,167 5.5

 New Orders.............................. 25,640 25,104 24,662 2.1 1.8 -1.9 26,533 25,969 24,277 152,154 142,123 7.1

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 29,054 28,329 27,700 2.6 2.3 -5.2 31,504 29,091 29,119 171,558 155,560 10.3

 New Orders.............................. 31,202 31,932 31,665 -2.3 0.8 0.9 32,620 32,285 31,558 188,613 163,681 15.2

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 30,268 30,823 31,094 -1.8 -0.9 4.4 31,835 28,650 30,340 178,745 172,310 3.7

 New Orders.............................. 24,413 24,374 24,299 0.2 0.3 2.0 26,903 21,841 27,000 141,550 139,357 1.6

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 5,583 5,594 5,726 -0.2 -2.3 1.7 6,540 4,856 6,045 31,848 28,013 13.7

 New Orders.............................. 5,713 5,759 5,659 -0.8 1.8 -1.0 6,670 5,021 6,235 31,837 28,190 12.9

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,092 3,120 3,243 -0.9 -3.8 3.5 3,536 2,978 4,393 18,573 21,997 -15.6

 New Orders.............................. 3,454 2,998 2,757 15.2 8.7 -2.3 3,700 2,372 3,872 17,374 20,856 -16.7

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,214 10,155 9,985 0.6 1.7 -2.5 11,037 10,182 10,413 59,918 55,826 7.3

 New Orders.............................. 10,476 10,431 10,114 0.4 3.1 -5.2 11,198 10,467 10,964 62,601 58,914 6.3

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 45,823 45,974 46,264 -0.3 -0.6 -3.7 51,068 45,464 49,109 276,980 265,645 4.3

 New Orders.............................. 45,429 49,629 46,918 -8.5 5.8 -9.3 49,124 47,299 45,023 285,152 258,853 10.2

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 28,522 28,945 28,898 -1.5 0.2 -5.3 30,964 28,914 29,075 174,631 157,714 10.7

 New Orders.............................. 28,548 28,944 28,864 -1.4 0.3 -5.3 30,718 28,747 28,678 174,229 156,819 11.1

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 6,963 6,719 6,820 3.6 -1.5 -2.0 8,481 6,398 7,701 40,584 37,593 8.0

 New Orders.............................. 6,832 9,610 7,314 -28.9 31.4 -29.0 7,198 8,794 5,636 46,070 35,942 28.2

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,241 4,241 4,195 0.0 1.1 -4.9 4,968 3,956 5,484 24,996 30,408 -17.8

 New Orders.............................. 4,092 5,145 4,539 -20.5 13.4 0.9 4,745 4,421 5,598 27,750 31,149 -10.9

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 31,894 31,864 31,875 0.1 0.0 -0.6 34,617 32,734 33,612 189,234 182,523 3.7

 New Orders.............................. 31,800 31,749 32,055 0.2 -1.0 -0.7 34,458 32,936 33,517 190,430 184,185 3.4

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 75,457 74,846 74,095 0.8 1.0 -1.9 82,619 73,944 79,222 442,750 422,811 4.7

 New Orders.............................. 78,416 81,740 77,510 -4.1 5.5 -5.1 83,488 78,455 79,235 470,909 429,283 9.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 67,706 66,968 66,135 1.1 1.3 -1.4 74,360 66,084 69,370 394,951 362,457 9.0

 New Orders.............................. 69,767 72,743 69,144 -4.1 5.2 -5.3 74,345 70,900 69,947 415,692 368,848 12.7

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 63,862 63,236 62,206 1.0 1.7 -1.5 69,583 62,424 64,693 372,373 340,492 9.4

 New Orders.......................... 66,140 66,427 65,319 -0.4 1.7 -0.4 70,631 65,036 66,877 388,763 347,835 11.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 7,751 7,878 7,960 -1.6 -1.0 -6.0 8,259 7,860 9,852 47,799 60,354 -20.8

 New Orders.............................. 8,649 8,997 8,366 -3.9 7.5 -3.6 9,143 7,555 9,288 55,217 60,435 -8.6

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 

Jun May Apr May - Apr - Mar - Jun May Jun 2011/

2011 2 2011 r 2011 Jun 2 May r Apr 2011 2 2011 r 2010 2010

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 862,707 860,600 853,164 0.2 0.9 0.6 865,044 867,242 811,597 6.6

 Total Inventories....................... 357,177 355,584 351,488 0.4 1.2 1.2 356,195 359,840 317,157 12.3

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 365,669 363,168 359,387 0.7 1.1 1.2 367,612 367,866 324,475 13.3

 Total Inventories....................... 248,116 247,752 245,507 0.1 0.9 1.4 247,441 250,492 224,783 10.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 693,246 692,051 686,245 0.2 0.8 0.6 693,734 696,748 646,954 7.2

 Total Inventories....................... 331,400 329,435 325,772 0.6 1.1 1.4 330,469 333,659 292,098 13.1

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 862,707 860,600 853,164 0.2 0.9 0.6 865,044 867,242 811,597 6.6

 Total Inventories....................... 293,454 291,514 287,738 0.7 1.3 1.4 292,705 295,014 257,804 13.5

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 32,034 32,811 33,170 -2.4 -1.1 0.2 32,291 33,649 27,661 16.7

 Total Inventories....................... 33,862 33,733 33,333 0.4 1.2 2.3 34,282 34,441 29,346 16.8

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 63,732 63,039 62,688 1.1 0.6 0.1 64,630 64,689 61,611 4.9

 Total Inventories....................... 44,886 44,767 44,160 0.3 1.4 1.7 44,977 45,138 40,769 10.3

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 111,214 109,066 105,463 2.0 3.4 3.9 111,333 110,217 84,403 31.9

 Total Inventories....................... 57,585 57,239 56,358 0.6 1.6 1.4 57,241 57,923 50,108 14.2

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 124,336 124,067 124,042 0.2 0.0 -0.1 124,379 124,334 120,570 3.2

 Total Inventories....................... 48,083 48,110 47,968 -0.1 0.3 1.4 47,327 48,576 44,341 6.7

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,643 3,513 3,348 3.7 4.9 -2.0 3,643 3,513 3,721 -2.1

 Total Inventories....................... 5,633 5,711 5,816 -1.4 -1.8 7.2 5,509 5,969 5,972 -7.8

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 28,642 28,280 28,402 1.3 -0.4 -1.7 28,392 28,228 28,430 -0.1

 Total Inventories....................... 9,947 9,739 9,637 2.1 1.1 0.6 9,655 9,752 8,698 11.0

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 25,794 25,532 25,256 1.0 1.1 0.5 25,935 25,774 21,719 19.4

 Total Inventories....................... 15,408 15,476 15,400 -0.4 0.5 1.0 15,415 15,699 14,293 7.8

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 497,038 497,432 493,777 -0.1 0.7 0.1 497,432 499,376 487,122 2.1

 Total Inventories....................... 109,061 107,832 105,981 1.1 1.7 0.8 108,754 109,348 92,374 17.7

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,534 13,508 13,509 0.2 0.0 -0.3 13,394 13,640 13,005 3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 24,993 24,899 24,601 0.4 1.2 0.7 24,670 25,340 22,035 12.0

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 343,757 343,888 340,997 0.0 0.8 0.1 342,902 344,185 329,428 4.1

 Total Inventories....................... 59,219 57,839 56,600 2.4 2.2 2.1 59,336 58,866 45,519 30.4

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 54,327 54,476 53,572 -0.3 1.7 0.6 54,859 55,082 51,812 5.9

 Total Inventories....................... 14,253 14,599 14,259 -2.4 2.4 -0.8 14,305 14,639 13,974 2.4

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,559 8,653 8,768 -1.1 -1.3 2.1 9,044 9,203 8,511 6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 48,292 48,427 48,288 -0.3 0.3 0.5 48,199 48,715 45,926 4.9

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 655,053 652,094 645,200 0.5 1.1 0.5 656,371 655,502 616,673 6.4

 Total Inventories....................... 183,033 181,457 178,739 0.9 1.5 1.5 182,322 183,772 158,057 15.4

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 504,709 502,648 496,873 0.4 1.2 0.6 504,281 504,296 469,231 7.5

 Total Inventories....................... 162,720 160,667 158,368 1.3 1.5 1.8 162,112 162,990 138,041 17.4

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 202,068 199,790 196,599 1.1 1.6 1.6 202,484 201,436 176,964 14.4

 Total Inventories................... 111,782 111,030 109,894 0.7 1.0 1.5 110,957 112,446 100,288 10.6

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 150,344 149,446 148,327 0.6 0.8 0.3 152,090 151,206 147,442 3.2

 Total Inventories....................... 20,313 20,790 20,371 -2.3 2.1 -1.2 20,210 20,782 20,016 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.