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FOR RELEASE AT 8:30 AM EST, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2020

MONTHLY ADVANCE REPORT ON DURABLE GOODS MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, 

INVENTORIES AND ORDERS NOVEMBER 2020

Release Number: CB 20-197 M3-1 (20)-11

Statement Regarding COVID-19 Impact: The Census Bureau continues to monitor response and data 

quality and has determined that estimates in this release meet publication standards. For more 

information, see < M3 COVID-19 FAQs>.

DECEMBER 23, 2020 — The U.S. Census Bureau announces the November advance report on durable 

goods manufacturers’ shipments, inventories and orders:

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased $2.2 billion or 0.9 percent to $244.2

billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This increase, up seven consecutive months, followed a

1.8 percent October increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.4 percent. Excluding 

defense, new orders increased 0.7 percent. Transportation equipment, up six of the last seven months,

led the increase, $1.5 billion or 1.9 percent to $78.8 billion.

DURABLE GOODS – NEW ORDERS

NOVEMBER 2020 $244.2 billion +0.9%°

OCTOBER 2020

(revised) $242.0 billion +1.8%°

Next release: January 27, 2021

Data adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes.

°Statistical significance is not measurable for this survey. The Manufacturers' Shipments, 

Inventories, and Orders estimates are not based on a probability sample, so the sampling 

error of these estimates cannot be measured nor can the confidence intervals be computed.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders, December

23, 2020.

Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20

% Change -2.6% 2.8% -0.2% 2.0% -16.7% -18.3% 15.0% 7.7% 11.8% 0.4% 2.1% 1.8% 0.9%

-19.0%

-18.0%

-17.0%

-16.0%

-15.0%

-14.0%

-13.0%

-12.0%

-11.0%

-10.0%

-9.0%

-8.0%

-7.0%

-6.0%

-5.0%

-4.0%

-3.0%

-2.0%

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

9.0%

10.0%

11.0%

12.0%

13.0%

14.0%

15.0%

16.0%

DURABLE GOODS NEW ORDERS 2019-2020

Seasonally Adjusted, Month-To-Month Percentage Change

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders, 

December 23, 2020.
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Shipments

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in November, up six of the last seven months, increased $0.7

billion or 0.3 percent to $250.1 billion. This followed a 1.5 percent October increase. Primary metals, up 

seven consecutive months, led the increase, $0.3 billion or 1.8 percent to $19.2 billion.

Unfilled Orders

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in November, down eight of the last nine months,

decreased $0.8 billion or 0.1 percent to $1,072.9 billion. This followed a 0.2 percent October decrease. 

Transportation equipment, down nine consecutive months, drove the decrease, $3.5 billion or 0.5 percent

to $713.3 billion.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in November, up three consecutive months, increased $3.9

billion or 0.9 percent to $426.6 billion. This followed a 0.3 percent October increase. Transportation 

equipment, up twenty-six of the last twenty-seven months, led the increase, $2.4 billion or 1.6 percent to 

$150.7 billion. 

Capital Goods

Nondefense new orders for capital goods in November increased $0.2 billion or 0.3 percent to $71.2

billion. Shipments decreased $1.6 billion or 2.2 percent to $71.8 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.6

billion or 0.1 percent to $591.2 billion. Inventories increased $2.3 billion or 1.2 percent to $196.1 billion. 

Defense new orders for capital goods in November decreased $0.1 billion or 0.5 percent to $12.5 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.8 billion or 6.7 percent to $13.4 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.9 billion or 

0.5 percent to $178.7 billion. Inventories decreased $0.4 billion or 1.7 percent to $21.0 billion.

Revised October Data

Revised seasonally adjusted October figures for all manufacturing industries were: new orders, $482.0

billion (revised from $480.8 billion); shipments, $489.4 billion (revised from $488.6 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,073.7 billion (revised from $1,073.3 billion) and total inventories, $687.9 billion (revised from $687.3

billion).

Revised and more detailed estimates, plus nondurable goods data, will be published on January 6, 2021, at

10:00 a.m. EST. The Advance Report on durable goods for December is scheduled for release on January

27, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. EST. View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing Room:

<https://www.census.gov/economic-indicators/>. The full text and tables of this release can be found at

<www.census.gov/m3>.
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EXPLANATORY NOTES

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

exclude data for semiconductor manufacturing. 

“Virtually unchanged” indicates that the change is less than 0.05 percent for a percent increase or 

decrease.

Description of the survey

This report is compiled from results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufacturers’ Shipments, 

Inventories, and Orders (M3) survey, which is a voluntary survey authorized by Title 13 of the United 

States Code. This survey provides statistics on a calendar-month basis for manufacturers' value of 

shipments, new orders (net of cancellations), end-of-month order backlog (unfilled orders), end-ofmonth total inventory (at current cost or market value), and inventories by stage of fabrication 

(materials and supplies, work-in-process, and finished goods). Data published from the M3 survey are 

based on a panel of approximately 5,000 reporting units that represent approximately 3,100 

companies and provide an indication of month-to-month change for the Manufacturing Sector. These 

reporting units may be divisions of diversified large companies, large homogenous companies, or 

single-unit manufacturers in 92 industry categories, which are combined into 65 publication levels due 

to the small monthly panel size. The survey methodology assumes that the month-to-month changes 

of the total operations of the reporting units in the M3 panel effectively represent the month-tomonth movements of all establishments that make up the category. The companies for which 

shipments data are currently reported or imputed in the M3 survey represent approximately 60

percent of the total value of shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2017 Economic 

Census, and these companies include roughly 61 percent of the manufacturing companies with $500 

million or more in shipments in the 2017 Economic Census. The companies for which shipments data 

are currently reported in the M3 survey represent approximately 51 percent of the total value of 

shipments for manufacturing establishments in the 2017 Economic Census. Statistics based on the M3 

panel differ from the results that would be obtained from a complete enumeration of all 

manufacturing companies. The M3 panel is not based on 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 
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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: <www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.

2021 Release Dates for the M3 Survey

Survey month Advance Report 

(8:30 a.m. release time)

Full Report 

(10:00 a.m. release time)

Nov-20 Thu 12/23/2020* Wed 1/6/2021

Dec-20 Wed 1/27/2021 Thu 2/4/2021

Jan-21 Thu 2/25/2021 Thu 3/4/2021

Feb-21 Wed 3/24/2021 Mon 4/5/2021

Mar-21 Mon 4/26/2021 Tue 5/4/2021

Apr-21 Thu 5/27/2021 Fri 6/4/2021

May-21 Thu 6/24/2021 Fri 7/2/2021

Jun-21 Tue 7/27/2021 Tue 8/3/2021

Jul-21 Wed 8/25/2021 Thu 9/2/2021

Aug-21 Mon 9/27/2021 Mon 10/4/2021

Sep-21 Wed 10/27/2021 Wed 11/3/2021

Oct-21 Wed 11/24/2021 Fri 12/3/2021

Nov-21 Thu 12/23/2021 Not available at this time

*Due to the executive order issued by President Trump closing the Federal Government on December 24, 2020, the 

U.S. Census Bureau will release the Monthly Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories 

and Orders on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. EST. Data will be disseminated using standard economic 

indicators release procedures. The original release date was scheduled for Thursday, December 24 at 8:30 a.m. EST.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pfei_schedule_release_dates_2021.pdf 
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RESOURCES

API

The Census Bureau’s application programming interface (API) lets developers create custom apps to reach 

new users and makes key demographic, socio-economic and housing statistics more accessible than ever 

before.

<www.census.gov/developers/>

FRED Mobile App

Receive the latest updates on the nation’s key economic indicators by downloading 

the FRED App <https://fred.stlouisfed.org/fred-mobile/> for both Apple and 

Android devices. FRED, the signature database of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. 

Louis, now incorporates the Census Bureau’s 13 economic indicators.

###
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

Nov Oct Sep Oct - Sep - Aug - Nov Oct Nov Change

2020 22020 r

2020 Nov 2

Oct r

Sep 2020 2

2020 r

2019 2020 2019 2020/2019

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Shipments................................ 250,096 249,374 245,600 0.3 1.5 0.5 240,295 257,015 235,741 2,578,392 2,740,674 -5.9

 New Orders4.............................. 244,161 242,003 237,786 0.9 1.8 2.1 232,563 245,226 224,605 2,443,564 2,656,809 -8.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 167,777 167,296 163,767 0.3 2.2 0.6 160,688 171,356 154,530 1,768,659 1,791,291 -1.3

 New Orders4.............................. 165,322 164,666 161,578 0.4 1.9 1.5 156,740 166,827 148,431 1,723,299 1,739,625 -0.9

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 234,963 234,922 231,809 0.0 1.3 0.6 224,536 242,600 221,115 2,424,491 2,587,984 -6.3

 New Orders4.............................. 230,123 228,493 226,716 0.7 0.8 3.8 218,178 233,737 214,341 2,292,969 2,505,705 -8.5

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 167,928 168,453 163,756 -0.3 2.9 0.2 160,770 170,865 163,258 1,783,338 1,901,520 -6.2

 New Orders.............................. 167,108 166,254 161,227 0.5 3.1 2.6 158,899 164,899 157,688 1,703,975 1,871,916 -9.0

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 19,183 18,850 18,360 1.8 2.7 0.1 17,801 18,965 17,729 203,979 221,231 -7.8

 New Orders.............................. 19,672 19,600 19,362 0.4 1.2 4.5 18,660 19,510 18,671 204,877 221,272 -7.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 31,041 30,925 30,136 0.4 2.6 0.3 29,431 32,004 30,173 333,340 351,170 -5.1

 New Orders.............................. 31,794 32,044 31,137 -0.8 2.9 2.3 29,777 32,377 29,155 335,937 351,329 -4.4

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 31,650 31,513 31,034 0.4 1.5 -0.4 29,152 31,883 29,162 336,071 352,599 -4.7

 New Orders.............................. 32,179 31,882 31,782 0.9 0.3 0.7 29,592 32,040 29,349 339,610 351,567 -3.4

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Shipments................................ 30,786 31,115 30,408 -1.1 2.3 1.6 31,376 31,023 28,706 321,292 308,712 4.1

 New Orders.............................. 26,351 26,245 25,196 0.4 4.2 1.3 25,645 25,407 22,494 266,719 256,139 4.1

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 1,930 1,911 1,807 1.0 5.8 -3.6 1,969 1,825 1,763 19,601 18,144 8.0

 New Orders.............................. 1,963 1,911 1,828 2.7 4.5 -1.6 2,002 1,825 1,797 19,482 18,160 7.3

 

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 4,446 4,671 4,248 -4.8 10.0 2.3 4,123 4,066 3,291 42,657 38,031 12.2

 New Orders.............................. 4,852 4,735 4,268 2.5 10.9 1.7 4,441 4,189 3,214 43,003 38,049 13.0

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,895 11,020 10,559 -1.1 4.4 -0.4 10,568 11,329 10,584 117,516 120,211 -2.2

 New Orders.............................. 11,105 11,022 10,784 0.8 2.2 -0.8 10,705 11,304 10,575 119,024 121,370 -1.9

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 82,319 82,078 81,833 0.3 0.3 0.4 79,607 85,659 81,211 809,733 949,383 -14.7

 New Orders.............................. 78,839 77,337 76,208 1.9 1.5 3.3 75,823 78,399 76,174 720,265 917,184 -21.5

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 61,896 60,485 62,052 2.3 -2.5 1.2 59,126 64,600 56,069 581,624 665,618 -12.6

 New Orders.............................. 62,051 60,573 62,106 2.4 -2.5 1.1 59,618 64,074 56,449 581,694 663,542 -12.3

 

 Nondefense aircraft and parts5:

 Shipments................................ 4,276 6,275 5,107 -31.9 22.9 -3.1 4,257 5,670 9,598 63,374 120,488 -47.4

 New Orders.............................. 2,291 2,356 1,902 -2.8 23.9 (NA) 1,431 1,611 7,506 -23,731 93,801 -125.3

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,235 4,220 3,742 0.4 12.8 -8.6 4,377 4,164 4,423 44,705 50,465 -11.4

 New Orders.............................. 3,266 2,824 1,649 15.7 71.3 -58.6 3,819 1,994 2,553 38,097 51,470 -26.0

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 44,222 43,873 43,270 0.8 1.4 1.1 42,360 46,152 38,176 456,461 437,368 4.4

 New Orders.............................. 44,221 43,873 43,317 0.8 1.3 1.0 42,361 46,189 38,187 457,132 437,948 4.4

 Capital goods3:

 Shipments................................ 85,191 85,925 82,758 -0.9 3.8 0.5 82,672 85,608 81,418 891,292 934,759 -4.7

 New Orders.............................. 83,751 83,631 80,998 0.1 3.3 5.7 79,871 81,304 73,713 816,773 905,130 -9.8

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 71,804 73,384 70,628 -2.2 3.9 0.7 68,584 73,019 68,488 756,228 801,869 -5.7

 New Orders.............................. 71,236 71,056 70,641 0.3 0.6 11.5 66,971 70,496 64,403 679,562 774,012 -12.2

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 69,888 69,577 67,814 0.4 2.6 0.8 66,666 69,731 62,524 721,738 723,937 -0.3

 New Orders.......................... 70,901 70,630 69,507 0.4 1.6 1.9 67,306 70,477 62,691 729,906 723,956 0.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 13,387 12,541 12,130 6.7 3.4 -0.3 14,088 12,589 12,930 135,064 132,890 1.6

 New Orders.............................. 12,515 12,575 10,357 -0.5 21.4 -21.9 12,900 10,808 9,310 137,211 131,118 4.6

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 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. 

5

 (NA) - New Orders month-to-month percent change is not provided for Nondefense aircraft and parts because the denominator has a negative value. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, November Advance Report, December 23, 2020. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our website at 

<www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>. 
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

Nov Oct Sep Oct - Sep - Aug - Nov Oct Nov 2020/

2020 2 2020 r 2020 Nov 2 Oct r

Sep 2020 2 2020

 r

2019 2019

DURABLE GOODS

 Total:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,072,883 1,073,703 1,075,902 -0.1 -0.2 -0.2 1,062,779 1,064,650 1,134,656 -6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 426,615 422,744 421,434 0.9 0.3 0.3 426,538 422,713 421,861 1.1

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 359,560 356,900 354,358 0.7 0.7 0.9 355,230 353,317 346,609 2.5

 Total Inventories....................... 275,921 274,486 273,934 0.5 0.2 0.2 275,337 273,196 281,514 -2.2

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4........................... 856,079 855,804 857,061 0.0 -0.1 0.0 849,237 849,734 929,735 -8.7

 Total Inventories....................... 401,379 397,141 395,708 1.1 0.4 0.2 401,299 397,128 396,407 1.2

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,072,883 1,073,703 1,075,902 -0.1 -0.2 -0.2 1,062,779 1,064,650 1,134,656 -6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 347,824 345,014 344,582 0.8 0.1 0.4 347,650 345,007 342,718 1.4

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 33,071 32,582 31,832 1.5 2.4 3.3 32,357 31,498 30,977 4.5

 Total Inventories....................... 33,797 33,655 33,544 0.4 0.3 1.3 33,606 33,253 35,343 -4.9

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 76,276 75,523 74,404 1.0 1.5 1.4 75,047 74,701 73,075 2.7

 Total Inventories....................... 51,778 51,250 51,023 1.0 0.4 -0.3 51,128 50,882 52,695 -3.0

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 99,307 98,778 98,409 0.5 0.4 0.8 98,267 97,827 96,030 2.3

 Total Inventories....................... 69,313 68,884 68,916 0.6 0.0 0.0 69,893 68,609 72,261 -3.3

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 119,686 119,006 118,704 0.6 0.3 0.1 118,634 118,504 117,311 1.1

 Total Inventories....................... 43,530 43,555 43,518 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 43,714 43,669 44,246 -1.2

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,889 1,856 1,856 1.8 0.0 1.1 1,889 1,856 2,007 -5.9

 Total Inventories....................... 3,911 3,865 3,850 1.2 0.4 -0.4 3,996 3,886 3,948 1.2

 

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 26,099 25,693 25,629 1.6 0.2 0.1 25,935 25,617 25,456 1.9

 Total Inventories....................... 5,257 5,290 5,325 -0.6 -0.7 1.2 5,357 5,350 5,237 2.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 22,564 22,354 22,352 0.9 0.0 1.0 22,291 22,154 20,965 6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 19,865 19,674 19,755 1.0 -0.4 0.3 19,530 19,577 19,563 -0.2

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 713,323 716,803 721,544 -0.5 -0.7 -0.8 707,549 711,333 788,047 -10.2

 Total Inventories....................... 150,694 148,258 147,500 1.6 0.5 0.4 151,201 149,517 140,347 7.7

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 21,460 21,305 21,217 0.7 0.4 0.3 20,818 20,326 19,827 5.0

 Total Inventories....................... 40,250 39,159 38,678 2.8 1.2 -0.9 40,249 39,425 40,041 0.5

 

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 475,370 477,355 481,274 -0.4 -0.8 -0.7 472,869 475,695 563,617 -16.1

 Total Inventories....................... 80,802 79,311 79,070 1.9 0.3 0.9 81,243 80,159 71,256 14.0

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 79,504 80,473 81,869 -1.2 -1.7 -2.5 78,429 78,987 81,183 -3.4

 Total Inventories....................... 12,359 12,446 12,436 -0.7 0.1 0.0 12,397 12,458 12,119 2.3

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,656 8,657 8,657 0.0 0.0 0.5 8,634 8,633 8,251 4.6

 Total Inventories....................... 57,638 57,468 57,178 0.3 0.5 0.3 57,466 57,206 57,406 0.1

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 769,807 771,247 773,541 -0.2 -0.3 -0.2 763,754 766,555 836,389 -8.7

 Total Inventories....................... 217,104 215,144 215,026 0.9 0.1 0.3 218,306 216,140 209,642 4.1

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 591,152 591,720 594,048 -0.1 -0.4 0.0 587,998 589,611 672,441 -12.6

 Total Inventories....................... 196,070 193,738 193,515 1.2 0.1 0.3 197,307 194,764 188,407 4.7

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 222,075 221,062 220,009 0.5 0.5 0.8 220,302 219,662 213,434 3.2

 Total Inventories................... 127,769 127,015 127,130 0.6 -0.1 -0.2 128,564 127,044 129,005 -0.3

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 178,655 179,527 179,493 -0.5 0.0 -1.0 175,756 176,944 163,948 7.2

 Total Inventories....................... 21,034 21,406 21,511 -1.7 -0.5 1.2 20,999 21,376 21,235 -1.1

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 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. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey, November Advance Report, December 23, 2020. Information on data sources and methodology can be found on our 

website at <www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/how_the_data_are_collected/index.html>.