FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (13)-05 

CB13-115

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

May 2013 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in May 

increased $8.0 billion or 3.6 percent to $231.0 billion, 

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

up three of the last four months, followed a 3.6 percent 

April increase. Excluding transportation, new orders 

increased 0.7 percent. Excluding defense, new orders 

increased 3.5 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also up three of the last four 

months, led the increase, $6.9 billion or 10.2 percent to 

$74.3 billion. This was led by nondefense aircraft and 

parts, which increased $6.3 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in May, up 

three of the last four months, increased $2.8 billion or 

1.2 percent to $229.7 billion. This followed a 0.6 

percent April decrease. 

 Transportation equipment, also up three of the last four 

months, led the increase, $2.4 billion or 3.6 percent to 

$69.3 billion. This followed a 0.9 percent April 

decrease. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

May, up three of the last four months, increased $8.1 

billion or 0.8 percent to $1,004.7 billion. This increase 

followed a 0.3 percent April increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up three of the last four 

months, led the increase, $5.0 billion or 0.8 percent to 

$616.6 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in May, up 

four of the last five months, increased $0.5 billion or 0.1 

percent to $378.0 billion. This was at the highest level 

since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 

1992, and followed a 0.3 percent April increase. 

 Computers and electronic products, up two 

consecutive months, led the increase, $0.4 billion or 0.8 

percent to $46.5 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in May 

increased $7.1 billion or 9.3 percent to $83.5 billion. 

Shipments increased $4.3 billion or 6.0 percent to $75.8 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $7.8 billion or 1.3 

percent to $585.6 billion. Inventories increased $0.4 

billion or 0.2 percent to $171.5 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in May increased 

$0.9 billion or 12.0 percent to $8.3 billion. Shipments 

increased slightly to $9.6 billion. Unfilled orders 

decreased $1.2 billion or 0.7 percent to $167.3 billion. 

Inventories increased $0.3 billion or 1.3 percent to $22.7 

billion. 

Revised April Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted April figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $474.1 

billion (revised from $474.0 billion); shipments, $478.0 

billion (revised from $478.7 billion); unfilled orders, 

$996.6 billion (revised from $995.9 billion); and total 

inventories, $627.6 billion (revised from $627.9 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 July 2, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for June is scheduled for release on July 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. 
 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

May Apr Mar Apr - Mar - Feb - May Apr May Change

2013 2 2013 r 2013 May 2 Apr r Mar 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2013 2012 2013/2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 229,739 226,909 228,342 1.2 -0.6 0.9 236,591 227,744 229,889 1,123,247 1,094,886 2.6

 New Orders4

.............................. 231,030 222,988 215,267 3.6 3.6 -5.9 234,438 218,395 217,760 1,111,305 1,088,250 2.1

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 160,489 160,096 160,932 0.2 -0.5 0.1 164,376 161,702 163,437 790,707 784,841 0.7

 New Orders

4

.............................. 156,761 155,617 153,033 0.7 1.7 -1.6 160,642 157,242 155,794 781,715 772,113 1.2

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 217,758 215,090 215,724 1.2 -0.3 0.7 224,704 216,830 217,555 1,065,383 1,036,638 2.8

 New Orders4

.............................. 220,586 213,084 207,790 3.5 2.5 -4.5 226,841 210,886 208,778 1,065,232 1,030,963 3.3

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 161,815 158,683 160,052 2.0 -0.9 0.9 166,708 156,979 164,137 787,003 781,481 0.7

 New Orders.............................. 169,891 161,941 154,464 4.9 4.8 -8.0 170,225 156,052 158,158 808,487 807,703 0.1

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 24,491 24,708 24,561 -0.9 0.6 -1.2 26,018 25,986 27,135 127,364 131,048 -2.8

 New Orders.............................. 25,530 25,312 24,731 0.9 2.3 -5.5 26,170 26,342 24,414 130,296 129,486 0.6

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 28,989 29,111 28,451 -0.4 2.3 -1.8 30,273 29,560 29,736 142,811 141,845 0.7

 New Orders.............................. 29,461 29,738 29,364 -0.9 1.3 -0.8 30,539 30,612 30,208 154,153 149,317 3.2

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 34,611 34,220 35,078 1.1 -2.4 0.7 35,434 34,771 33,516 170,533 162,388 5.0

 New Orders.............................. 34,732 34,331 33,982 1.2 1.0 -1.5 35,802 35,610 33,798 175,181 168,467 4.0

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 27,533 27,583 28,438 -0.2 -3.0 3.3 25,725 26,705 27,816 131,396 137,377 -4.4

 New Orders.............................. 22,130 21,557 20,595 2.7 4.7 -0.6 20,877 19,656 21,603 101,505 110,235 -7.9

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 2,362 2,337 2,482 1.1 -5.8 11.9 1,939 1,691 2,263 10,040 10,970 -8.5

 New Orders.............................. 2,387 2,363 2,454 1.0 -3.7 -0.4 1,964 1,717 2,270 10,296 10,975 -6.2

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 4,106 3,961 3,936 3.7 0.6 0.6 3,956 3,489 3,828 18,636 17,751 5.0

 New Orders.............................. 5,116 4,544 4,061 12.6 11.9 2.2 4,890 4,013 3,810 21,244 19,767 7.5

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,423 10,197 10,273 2.2 -0.7 -1.1 10,771 10,111 10,728 50,653 51,050 -0.8

 New Orders.............................. 10,496 10,349 10,351 1.4 0.0 -0.2 10,971 10,087 11,132 51,751 52,396 -1.2

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 69,250 66,813 67,410 3.6 -0.9 3.0 72,215 66,042 66,452 332,540 310,045 7.3

 New Orders.............................. 74,269 67,371 62,234 10.2 8.3 -15.0 73,796 61,153 61,966 329,590 316,137 4.3

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 44,466 45,167 44,162 -1.6 2.3 0.6 47,708 46,233 43,996 224,086 204,204 9.7

 New Orders.............................. 44,622 45,168 44,109 -1.2 2.4 0.1 47,677 45,988 43,576 224,247 203,672 10.1

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 12,650 9,702 10,783 30.4 -10.0 13.9 12,283 8,519 10,237 50,136 47,738 5.0

 New Orders.............................. 18,630 12,339 10,431 51.0 18.3 -43.3 17,181 7,149 9,029 60,150 57,517 4.6

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,763 4,624 5,102 3.0 -9.4 9.2 4,639 4,069 4,711 22,350 22,831 -2.1

 New Orders.............................. 4,263 4,112 2,875 3.7 43.0 -7.5 2,878 2,880 3,311 15,618 23,730 -34.2

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 34,442 34,277 34,131 0.5 0.4 -0.4 36,155 34,569 34,506 167,950 161,133 4.2

 New Orders.............................. 34,412 34,330 34,010 0.2 0.9 -0.6 36,283 34,935 34,639 168,829 162,212 4.1

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 85,326 81,021 84,143 5.3 -3.7 2.7 85,446 77,975 82,283 402,348 396,160 1.6

 New Orders.............................. 91,865 83,849 79,517 9.6 5.4 -12.0 88,959 77,347 78,546 419,473 418,311 0.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 75,758 71,457 74,005 6.0 -3.4 2.5 75,849 68,995 72,313 355,216 349,349 1.7

 New Orders.............................. 83,519 76,397 73,795 9.3 3.5 -8.9 82,580 71,737 71,472 382,378 372,547 2.6

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 66,358 65,227 66,592 1.7 -2.0 0.6 66,508 63,621 65,307 321,497 317,569 1.2

 New Orders.......................... 68,293 67,554 66,734 1.1 1.2 1.1 68,362 67,324 66,337 338,995 332,318 2.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,568 9,564 10,138 0.0 -5.7 3.8 9,597 8,980 9,970 47,132 46,811 0.7

 New Orders.............................. 8,346 7,452 5,722 12.0 30.2 -39.1 6,379 5,610 7,074 37,095 45,764 -18.9

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

May Apr Mar Apr - Mar - Feb - May Apr May 2013/

2013 2 2013 r 2013 May 2 Apr r Mar 2013 2 2013 r 2012 2012

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,004,706 996,630 993,372 0.8 0.3 -0.6 1,012,348 1,008,831 981,196 3.2

 Total Inventories....................... 377,952 377,489 376,534 0.1 0.3 -0.1 381,295 379,846 370,428 2.9

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 388,098 385,041 382,341 0.8 0.7 -0.1 395,769 393,833 397,299 -0.4

 Total Inventories....................... 261,543 261,362 261,770 0.1 -0.2 -0.2 263,997 262,973 263,623 0.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 806,499 796,886 791,713 1.2 0.7 -0.1 813,785 805,978 783,002 3.9

 Total Inventories....................... 349,789 349,589 348,951 0.1 0.2 0.0 353,046 351,803 344,163 2.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,004,706 996,630 993,372 0.8 0.3 -0.6 1,012,348 1,008,831 981,196 3.2

 Total Inventories....................... 309,071 308,413 307,473 0.2 0.3 -0.1 312,174 310,688 301,889 3.4

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 34,493 33,454 32,850 3.1 1.8 0.5 35,059 34,907 36,395 -3.7

 Total Inventories....................... 34,710 35,000 35,560 -0.8 -1.6 -2.1 35,126 35,415 37,002 -5.1

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 86,642 86,170 85,543 0.5 0.7 1.1 90,294 90,028 81,075 11.4

 Total Inventories....................... 47,157 47,227 47,309 -0.1 -0.2 0.7 47,623 47,605 47,490 0.3

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 104,634 104,513 104,402 0.1 0.1 -1.0 106,438 106,070 120,525 -11.7

 Total Inventories....................... 66,580 66,345 66,125 0.4 0.3 0.0 67,398 66,913 66,879 0.8

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 133,356 131,974 130,821 1.0 0.9 -0.3 134,197 133,375 129,131 3.9

 Total Inventories....................... 46,465 46,102 45,900 0.8 0.4 -0.2 46,795 46,017 46,553 0.5

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,483 3,458 3,432 0.7 0.8 -0.8 3,483 3,458 2,748 26.7

 Total Inventories....................... 4,496 4,365 4,161 3.0 4.9 -4.8 4,666 4,315 4,637 0.6

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 32,896 31,886 31,303 3.2 1.9 0.4 33,038 32,104 28,555 15.7

 Total Inventories....................... 7,475 7,477 7,660 0.0 -2.4 0.5 7,445 7,346 7,533 -1.2

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 21,769 21,696 21,544 0.3 0.7 0.4 22,072 21,872 22,379 -1.4

 Total Inventories....................... 16,598 16,645 16,890 -0.3 -1.5 0.0 16,864 16,897 16,594 1.6

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 616,608 611,589 611,031 0.8 0.1 -0.8 616,579 614,998 583,897 5.6

 Total Inventories....................... 116,409 116,127 114,764 0.2 1.2 0.1 117,298 116,873 106,805 9.8

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 16,804 16,648 16,647 0.9 0.0 -0.3 16,946 16,977 17,345 -2.3

 Total Inventories....................... 25,152 25,215 25,178 -0.2 0.1 -1.5 25,130 25,081 25,240 -0.4

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 441,358 435,378 432,741 1.4 0.6 -0.1 441,370 436,472 407,087 8.4

 Total Inventories....................... 62,513 62,436 61,225 0.1 2.0 1.1 63,459 63,306 54,689 16.0

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 65,860 66,360 66,872 -0.8 -0.8 -3.2 65,627 67,388 66,421 -1.2

 Total Inventories....................... 13,924 13,705 13,789 1.6 -0.6 -1.6 13,919 13,678 12,811 8.6

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,204 7,234 7,181 -0.4 0.7 -1.7 7,709 7,581 7,794 -1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 50,033 50,043 49,986 0.0 0.1 0.2 50,191 50,126 49,105 2.2

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 752,978 746,439 743,611 0.9 0.4 -0.6 758,339 754,826 728,094 4.2

 Total Inventories....................... 194,189 193,529 192,261 0.3 0.7 0.0 196,312 194,763 185,790 5.7

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 585,642 577,881 572,941 1.3 0.9 0.0 590,433 583,702 560,684 5.3

 Total Inventories....................... 171,469 171,101 170,138 0.2 0.6 0.1 173,501 172,165 164,745 5.3

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 220,323 218,388 216,061 0.9 1.1 0.1 225,337 223,483 224,804 0.2

 Total Inventories................... 120,237 119,897 120,118 0.3 -0.2 -0.3 121,361 120,097 120,468 0.7

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 167,336 168,558 170,670 -0.7 -1.2 -2.5 167,906 171,124 167,410 0.3

 Total Inventories....................... 22,720 22,428 22,123 1.3 1.4 -1.3 22,811 22,598 21,045 8.4

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.