FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

FEBRUARY 24, 2005 AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Patrick Kent 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1(05)-01 

CB05-25 

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

January 2005 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in January 

decreased $1.7 billion or 0.9 percent to $200.4 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This followed 

a 1.4 percent December increase. Excluding 

transportation, new orders increased 0.8 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 0.8 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment had the largest decrease, 

$3.0 billion or 5.3 percent to $53.3 billion, due to 

nondefense aircraft and parts, which decreased $2.2 

billion. 

 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in January, 

up seven of the last eight months, increased $3.0 billion 

or 1.5 percent to $209.2 billion. This was at the highest 

level since the series was first stated on a NAICS basis in 

1992 and followed a 2.8 percent December increase. 

 Computers and electronic products, up seven of the last 

eight months, had the largest increase, $1.6 billion or 4.0 

percent to $42.1 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

January, down following eleven consecutive increases, 

decreased $0.9 billion or 0.2 percent to $551.3 billion. 

This followed a 0.5 percent December increase. 

 Transportation equipment, down following two 

consecutive increases, decreased $1.2 billion or 0.4 

percent to $262.8 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in January, 

up fourteen consecutive months, increased $2.6 billion or 

0.9 percent to $285.9 billion. This followed a 0.2 percent 

December increase. 

 Computers and electronic products, up following two 

consecutive decreases, had the largest increase, $0.8 

billion or 1.5 percent to $50.1 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in January 

increased $0.1 billion or 0.2 percent to $69.5 billion. 

Shipments increased $2.0 billion or 3.0 percent to $68.8 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $0.8 billion or 0.3 

percent to $245.7 billion. Inventories increased $0.2 

billion or 0.2 percent to $111.2 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in January 

decreased $0.7 billion or 9.8 percent to $6.8 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.1 billion or 1.0 percent to $8.1 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $1.4 billion or 0.9 

percent to $146.9 billion. Inventories increased $0.3 

billion or 1.4 percent to $20.2 billion. 

Revised December Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted December figures for all 

manufacturing industries are: new orders, $379.3 billion 

(revised from $379.1 billion); shipments, $383.3 billion 

(revised from $382.7 billion); unfilled orders, $552.1 

billion (revised from $552.6 billion); and total 

inventories, $471.6 billion (revised from $470.6 billion). 

Figures in text, other than year-to-date, are in seasonally adjusted current dollars. 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 4, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. EST. The 

advance report on durable goods for February is scheduled for release on March 24, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. EST. See back page for 

survey description and release dates. 
 2

Table 1. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders

[Millions of Dollars]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 1

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Year to Date

Item Percent

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

2005 2 2004 r 2004 Jan 2 Dec r Nov 2005 2 2004 r 2004 2005 2004 05/04

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Shipments................................ 209,205 206,160 200,500 1.5 2.8 0.2 184,816 208,162 166,170 184,816 166,170 11.2

 New Orders 4

.............................. 200,401 202,143 199,400 -0.9 1.4 2.0 185,231 209,052 167,594 185,231 167,594 10.5

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 154,675 151,305 147,625 2.2 2.5 0.5 137,423 155,278 119,672 137,423 119,672 14.8

 New Orders 4.............................. 147,052 145,829 141,805 0.8 2.8 -0.7 135,761 149,073 119,475 135,761 119,475 13.6

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 199,271 196,787 190,964 1.3 3.0 0.4 176,798 197,482 158,404 176,798 158,404 11.6

 New Orders 4

.............................. 191,821 193,407 189,544 -0.8 2.0 4.2 176,375 194,430 157,128 176,375 157,128 12.2

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 144,015 140,126 136,764 2.8 2.5 -0.5 127,891 142,787 113,001 127,891 113,001 13.2

 New Orders 4.............................. 143,119 143,091 142,972 0.0 0.1 2.0 135,506 150,930 120,386 135,506 120,386 12.6

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 15,660 15,312 14,885 2.3 2.9 2.8 15,026 13,560 11,548 15,026 11,548 30.1

 New Orders.............................. 15,486 15,242 14,927 1.6 2.1 5.1 15,558 13,805 12,487 15,558 12,487 24.6

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 23,745 23,457 23,366 1.2 0.4 2.0 21,785 21,978 19,226 21,785 19,226 13.3

 New Orders.............................. 23,721 23,435 23,619 1.2 -0.8 -0.5 22,463 21,719 21,065 22,463 21,065 6.6

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 27,280 26,592 25,077 2.6 6.0 -3.8 23,652 26,337 19,872 23,652 19,872 19.0

 New Orders.............................. 27,134 27,042 25,848 0.3 4.6 -4.2 24,956 26,460 21,383 24,956 21,383 16.7

 Computers and electronic products:

 Shipments................................ 42,079 40,442 40,281 4.0 0.4 0.2 36,486 48,519 32,428 36,486 32,428 12.5

 New Orders 4.............................. 34,655 35,084 32,398 -1.2 8.3 -5.8 31,821 43,445 27,349 31,821 27,349 16.4

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 10,024 9,474 9,285 5.8 2.0 -2.9 8,943 12,389 7,344 8,943 7,344 21.8

 New Orders.............................. 9,848 10,251 9,331 -3.9 9.9 5.8 8,425 13,084 6,668 8,425 6,668 26.3 

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 7,041 6,836 6,887 3.0 -0.7 -2.9 5,951 8,575 5,732 5,951 5,732 3.8

 New Orders.............................. 7,433 7,571 6,107 -1.8 24.0 -40.3 7,623 8,623 5,958 7,623 5,958 27.9

 Semiconductors:

 Shipments................................ 7,908 6,982 7,308 13.3 -4.5 1.0 7,200 7,253 5,961 7,200 5,961 20.8

 New Orders 4.............................. (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 9,442 9,001 9,061 4.9 -0.7 1.4 8,136 9,331 7,353 8,136 7,353 10.6

 New Orders.............................. 9,810 8,685 9,336 13.0 -7.0 4.9 8,722 8,652 7,527 8,722 7,527 15.9

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 54,530 54,855 52,875 -0.6 3.7 -0.6 47,393 52,884 46,498 47,393 46,498 1.9

 New Orders.............................. 53,349 56,314 57,595 -5.3 -2.2 9.4 49,470 59,979 48,119 49,470 48,119 2.8

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 38,326 39,775 37,939 -3.6 4.8 1.4 34,676 35,891 34,962 34,676 34,962 -0.8

 New Orders.............................. 38,153 39,641 37,801 -3.8 4.9 2.4 34,970 36,264 35,387 34,970 35,387 -1.2 

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 6,310 5,897 5,502 7.0 7.2 -12.0 4,822 6,957 3,921 4,822 3,921 23.0

 New Orders.............................. 5,835 8,001 9,614 -27.1 -16.8 64.7 5,365 10,797 3,770 5,365 3,770 42.3

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 3,766 3,166 3,373 19.0 -6.1 -3.3 3,046 3,787 2,910 3,046 2,910 4.7

 New Orders.............................. 3,002 1,913 3,180 56.9 -39.8 -3.7 3,066 3,758 2,991 3,066 2,991 2.5

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 36,469 36,501 34,955 -0.1 4.4 2.1 32,338 35,553 29,245 32,338 29,245 10.6

 New Orders.............................. 36,246 36,341 35,677 -0.3 1.9 2.9 32,241 34,992 29,664 32,241 29,664 8.7

 Capital goods:3

 Shipments................................ 76,893 74,784 72,363 2.8 3.3 -2.4 65,878 83,629 58,482 65,878 58,482 12.6

 New Orders.............................. 76,301 76,906 78,330 -0.8 -1.8 1.0 70,666 90,396 62,064 70,666 62,064 13.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 68,774 66,743 64,211 3.0 3.9 -2.4 59,237 74,634 51,704 59,237 51,704 14.6

 New Orders.............................. 69,545 69,420 69,919 0.2 -0.7 7.7 63,733 77,617 52,771 63,733 52,771 20.8

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 66,319 63,957 62,144 3.7 2.9 -1.7 57,764 70,675 50,426 57,764 50,426 14.6

 New Orders......................... 67,216 65,290 63,206 2.9 3.3 1.2 61,368 70,578 51,354 61,368 51,354 19.5

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,119 8,041 8,152 1.0 -1.4 -2.1 6,641 8,995 6,778 6,641 6,778 -2.0

 New Orders.............................. 6,756 7,486 8,411 -9.8 -11.0 -33.4 6,933 12,779 9,293 6,933 9,293 -25.4

NA Not Available r Revised

1

 Shipments and new orders are the totals for the period and are adjusted for trading-day and calendar-month variations; unfilled orders and total inventories are as of the end of the period and are not 

adjusted for trading-day or calendar-month variations.

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. Further details on survey design, 

methodology, and data limitations are contained in our most recent annual benchmark publication, Current Industrial Reports: M3-1(02), "Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: 1992-2002."

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 Data on new and unfilled orders are not available for the semiconductor industry. Estimates and percent changes for new orders and unfilled orders exclude semiconductor industry data. 

Inventories for semiconductor industry data are included in computers and electronic products and total durable goods industries, but are not shown separately.
 3

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

[Millions of Dollars]

Seasonally Adjusted Not Seasonally Adjusted 1

Monthly Percent Change Monthly Percent

Item Change

Jan Dec Nov Dec - Nov - Oct - Jan Dec Jan 2005/

2005 2 2004 r 2004 Jan 2 Dec r Nov 2005 2 2004 r 2004 2004

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Unfilled Orders

4

........................ 551,253 552,149 549,184 -0.2 0.5 1.1 554,530 546,915 509,801 8.8

 Total Inventories....................... 285,937 283,303 282,599 0.9 0.2 0.9 284,993 275,769 262,344 8.6

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders

4

........................ 288,435 288,150 286,644 0.1 0.5 0.5 288,635 283,097 256,899 12.4

 Total Inventories....................... 216,192 214,045 212,860 1.0 0.6 0.7 215,766 209,030 194,984 10.7

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders

4

........................ 386,835 386,377 382,775 0.1 0.9 1.6 388,852 382,075 349,144 11.4

 Total Inventories....................... 260,775 258,428 258,102 0.9 0.1 0.9 260,076 251,422 238,566 9.0

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders

4

........................ 551,253 552,149 549,184 -0.2 0.5 1.1 554,530 546,915 509,801 8.8

 Total Inventories....................... 224,098 222,208 220,908 0.9 0.6 1.0 223,256 216,781 204,529 9.2

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 19,526 19,700 19,770 -0.9 -0.4 0.2 19,393 18,861 16,941 14.5

 Total Inventories....................... 22,186 21,715 21,322 2.2 1.8 2.4 22,465 21,949 17,632 27.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 45,874 45,898 45,920 -0.1 0.0 0.6 45,252 44,574 39,860 13.5

 Total Inventories....................... 35,919 35,572 35,102 1.0 1.3 1.3 35,825 35,017 30,940 15.8

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 51,291 51,437 50,987 -0.3 0.9 1.5 51,666 50,362 44,393 16.4

 Total Inventories....................... 46,293 46,084 45,682 0.5 0.9 1.5 46,269 44,918 41,863 10.5

 Computers and electronic products:

 Unfilled Orders

4

........................ 142,730 142,246 140,622 0.3 1.2 -0.4 143,569 141,034 130,038 10.4

 Total Inventories....................... 50,135 49,382 49,502 1.5 -0.2 -0.3 49,800 47,542 46,577 6.9

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,958 9,134 8,357 -1.9 9.3 0.6 8,757 9,275 8,129 7.7

 Total Inventories....................... 6,525 6,471 6,396 0.8 1.2 -0.2 6,342 6,047 5,819 9.0 

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 55,538 55,146 54,411 0.7 1.4 -1.4 55,741 54,069 49,995 11.5

 Total Inventories....................... 11,199 11,059 10,973 1.3 0.8 -0.7 11,118 10,698 10,472 6.2

 Semiconductors:

 Unfilled Orders

4

........................ (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

 Total Inventories4...................... (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 15,572 15,204 15,520 2.4 -2.0 1.8 15,429 14,843 13,589 13.5

 Total Inventories....................... 13,086 13,000 12,928 0.7 0.6 -0.5 13,036 12,464 12,461 4.6

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 262,818 263,999 262,540 -0.4 0.6 1.8 265,895 263,818 252,902 5.1

 Total Inventories....................... 69,745 69,258 69,739 0.7 -0.7 1.5 69,227 66,739 67,360 2.8

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 14,502 14,675 14,809 -1.2 -0.9 -0.9 14,984 14,690 14,045 6.7

 Total Inventories....................... 22,117 21,723 21,994 1.8 -1.2 0.2 22,152 20,779 20,838 6.3 

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 115,949 116,424 114,320 -0.4 1.8 3.7 117,685 117,142 104,920 12.2

 Total Inventories....................... 23,087 23,211 23,665 -0.5 -1.9 2.7 22,749 22,205 23,666 -3.9

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 52,868 53,632 54,885 -1.4 -2.3 -0.4 52,683 52,663 60,851 -13.4

 Total Inventories....................... 12,383 12,272 11,903 0.9 3.1 0.5 12,277 12,030 11,362 8.1

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,442 13,665 13,825 -1.6 -1.2 5.5 13,326 13,423 12,078 10.3

 Total Inventories....................... 48,573 48,292 48,324 0.6 -0.1 0.1 48,371 47,140 45,511 6.3

 Capital goods:3

 Unfilled Orders......................... 392,570 393,162 391,040 -0.2 0.5 1.5 395,791 391,003 361,379 9.5

 Total Inventories....................... 131,353 130,863 130,746 0.4 0.1 1.3 130,429 127,223 123,624 5.5

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 245,677 244,906 242,229 0.3 1.1 2.4 247,616 243,120 220,614 12.2

 Total Inventories....................... 111,175 110,955 110,918 0.2 0.0 1.3 110,384 107,526 104,344 5.8

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 153,792 152,895 151,562 0.6 0.9 0.7 153,995 150,391 140,212 9.8

 Total Inventories.................. 94,841 94,369 93,874 0.5 0.5 1.0 94,298 91,696 87,394 7.9

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 146,893 148,256 148,811 -0.9 -0.4 0.2 148,175 147,883 140,765 5.3

 Total Inventories....................... 20,178 19,908 19,828 1.4 0.4 1.4 20,045 19,697 19,280 4.0

See footnotes at end of Table 1 
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), and end-of-month total inventory (at current cost or market value). 

The M3 includes approximately 4,000 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 59 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 4,000 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 4,000 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.

Additional survey documentation can be found on our web site: http://www.census.gov/m3/.

2005 Release Dates for M3 Survey

Survey Month Advance 8:30 A.M. Preliminary 10:00 A.M.

Dec 2004 1/27/05 2/3/05

Jan 2005 2/24/05 3/4/05

Feb 2005 3/24/05 3/31/05

Mar 2005 4/27/05 5/3/05

Apr 2005 5/25/05 6/2/05

May 2005 6/24/05 7/5/05

Jun 2005 7/27/05 8/2/05

Jul 2005 8/24/05 8/30/05

Aug 2005 9/28/05 10/4/05

Sep 2005 10/27/05 11/3/05

Oct 2005 11/29/05 12/6/05

Nov 2005 12/23/05