FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010, AT 8:30 A.M. EST 

Chris Savage or Jessica Young 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (10)-10 

CB10-176

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

October 2010 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

October decreased $6.8 billion or 3.3 percent to $196.0 

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

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

5.0 percent September increase. Excluding 

transportation, new orders decreased 2.7 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 2.1 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down two of the last 

three months, had the largest decrease, $2.9 billion or 

5.2 percent to $52.3 billion. This was led by defense 

aircraft and parts, which decreased $1.6 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in October, 

also down two of the last three months, decreased $1.8 

billion or 0.9 percent to $196.8 billion. This followed a 

0.1 percent September increase. 

 Machinery, down following two consecutive monthly 

increases, had the largest decrease, $0.9 billion or 3.6 

percent to $24.6 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

October, up nine of the last ten months, increased $5.4 

billion or 0.7 percent to $821.9 billion. This followed a 

1.4 percent September increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up two consecutive months, 

had the largest increase, $3.7 billion or 0.8 percent to 

$484.2 billion. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in October, 

up ten consecutive months, increased $1.3 billion or 0.4 

percent to $316.7 billion. This followed a 0.7 percent 

September increase. 

 Machinery, up eight consecutive months, had the 

largest increase, $0.4 billion or 0.7 percent to $52.4 

billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in October 

decreased $3.3 billion or 4.5 percent to $70.8 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.4 billion or 0.6 percent to $64.7 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $6.1 billion or 1.2 

percent to $503.9 billion. Inventories increased $0.8 

billion or 0.6 percent to $134.5 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in October 

decreased $2.2 billion or 21.3 percent to $8.3 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.7 billion or 7.4 percent to $9.0 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.8 billion or 0.5 

percent to $139.9 billion. Inventories increased 0.1 

percent to $17.4 billion. 

Revised September Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted September figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $423.0 

billion (revised from $420.0 billion); shipments, $418.7 

billion (revised from $418.2 billion); unfilled orders, 

$816.5 billion (revised from $813.5 billion); and total 

inventories, $531.8 billion (revised from $531.2 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 December 3, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The advance report on durable goods for November is scheduled for release on December 23, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. EST. See back page 

for survey description and 2011 release schedule. 
 2

Table 1. Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments and New Orders1

[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 

Oct Sep Aug Sep - Aug - Jul - Oct Sep Oct Change

2010 2 2010 r 2010 Oct 2 Sep r Aug 2010 2 2010 r 2009 2010 2009 10/09

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments .............................. 196,802 198,556 198,420 -0.9 0.1 -1.3 203,194 211,486 194,066 1,964,089 1,822,738 7.8

 New Orders 4

........................... 196,045 202,837 193,199 -3.3 5.0 -0.8 197,699 215,805 180,484 1,925,963 1,679,301 14.7

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments............................... 148,276 149,671 149,274 -0.9 0.3 0.5 152,950 157,658 142,270 1,477,298 1,348,555 9.5

 New Orders 4

........................... 143,781 147,704 145,867 -2.7 1.3 2.1 145,305 157,341 133,514 1,444,736 1,268,083 13.9

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments............................... 185,272 186,338 186,627 -0.6 -0.2 -1.2 191,920 198,046 180,194 1,838,873 1,690,946 8.7

 New Orders 4

........................... 185,404 189,405 181,210 -2.1 4.5 -0.7 188,054 201,585 169,387 1,803,546 1,560,751 15.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments............................... 142,791 144,086 143,694 -0.9 0.3 -1.2 145,228 155,048 138,197 1,428,307 1,323,831 7.9

 New Orders .............................. 148,175 155,059 145,045 -4.4 6.9 -0.4 147,949 164,396 132,032 1,449,601 1,229,276 17.9

 Primary metals:

 Shipments............................... 19,931 20,013 19,912 -0.4 0.5 0.6 20,476 21,155 17,050 200,904 150,369 33.6

 New Orders.............................. 20,129 20,289 19,927 -0.8 1.8 -1.6 19,991 20,784 16,682 203,071 146,744 38.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments............................... 27,394 27,347 27,308 0.2 0.1 1.0 28,505 29,071 27,529 275,131 262,314 4.9

 New Orders.............................. 27,166 27,414 27,529 -0.9 -0.4 1.6 27,775 28,708 26,833 276,134 252,369 9.4

 Machinery:

 Shipments............................... 24,627 25,552 25,169 -3.6 1.5 3.4 24,606 26,610 22,116 245,883 230,410 6.7

 New Orders.............................. 26,809 27,884 26,948 -3.9 3.5 5.4 27,368 29,348 22,293 263,590 217,970 20.9

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments............................... 33,752 34,408 34,268 -1.9 0.4 -0.3 35,714 36,290 32,977 326,938 292,046 11.9

 New Orders .............................. 26,795 29,038 28,468 -7.7 2.0 3.9 26,221 33,590 24,746 268,202 239,720 11.9

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments............................... 6,492 6,673 6,556 -2.7 1.8 3.2 6,840 7,268 5,396 60,004 51,434 16.7

 New Orders.............................. 6,349 6,813 6,610 -6.8 3.1 11.2 6,697 7,408 5,444 59,962 50,741 18.2

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments............................... 3,301 3,400 3,469 -2.9 -2.0 -2.6 2,970 4,039 3,527 34,644 36,065 -3.9

 New Orders.............................. 3,175 3,621 3,972 -12.3 -8.8 10.0 2,814 4,645 3,445 34,385 36,831 -6.6

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments............................... 9,573 9,551 9,642 0.2 -0.9 0.5 9,678 10,238 9,210 95,178 89,908 5.9

 New Orders.............................. 9,764 10,112 10,037 -3.4 0.7 4.3 9,812 10,403 9,402 99,440 88,364 12.5

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments............................... 48,526 48,885 49,146 -0.7 -0.5 -6.6 50,244 53,828 51,796 486,791 474,183 2.7

 New Orders.............................. 52,264 55,133 47,332 -5.2 16.5 -8.8 52,394 58,464 46,970 481,227 411,218 17.0

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments............................... 30,340 30,411 30,637 -0.2 -0.7 -6.1 33,147 33,311 32,520 302,618 272,828 10.9

 New Orders.............................. 30,395 30,594 30,680 -0.7 -0.3 -5.1 33,314 33,394 32,709 301,494 271,071 11.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments............................... 7,248 7,001 7,454 3.5 -6.1 -13.5 6,385 7,549 6,736 68,043 77,330 -12.0

 New Orders.............................. 12,737 13,327 6,268 -4.4 112.6 -30.0 10,565 13,195 4,257 74,220 36,177 105.2

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments............................... 4,800 5,072 4,978 -5.4 1.9 -0.6 4,662 5,872 5,353 51,921 53,224 -2.4

 New Orders.............................. 4,695 6,266 4,831 -25.1 29.7 0.8 4,362 6,634 4,888 51,643 49,965 3.4

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments............................... 32,999 32,800 32,975 0.6 -0.5 -1.1 33,971 34,294 33,388 333,264 323,508 3.0

 New Orders.............................. 33,118 32,967 32,958 0.5 0.0 0.3 34,138 34,508 33,558 334,299 322,916 3.5

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments............................... 73,792 74,910 74,349 -1.5 0.8 -1.2 72,962 80,530 69,773 728,722 696,902 4.6

 New Orders.............................. 79,078 84,627 75,737 -6.6 11.7 0.9 76,667 89,354 64,162 745,164 616,356 20.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments............................... 64,748 65,143 65,225 -0.6 -0.1 -0.6 64,083 70,046 58,575 628,466 590,166 6.5

 New Orders.............................. 70,799 74,104 66,371 -4.5 11.7 1.3 69,237 78,576 55,625 648,160 521,676 24.2

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 60,399 61,330 60,710 -1.5 1.0 1.4 60,421 65,958 54,422 588,901 541,407 8.8

 New Orders........................ 61,316 64,187 63,011 -4.5 1.9 5.1 61,689 69,004 54,050 602,690 516,041 16.8

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments............................... 9,044 9,767 9,124 -7.4 7.0 -4.8 8,879 10,484 11,198 100,256 106,736 -6.1

 New Orders.............................. 8,279 10,523 9,366 -21.3 12.4 -1.9 7,430 10,778 8,537 97,004 94,680 2.5

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 Inventories1

[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 

Oct Sep Aug Sep - Aug - Jul - Oct Sep Oct 2010/

2010 2 2010 r 2010 Oct 2 Sep r Aug 2010 2 2010 r 2009 2009

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 821,881 816,497 805,524 0.7 1.4 0.2 813,980 811,259 798,095 2.0

 Total Inventories....................... 316,666 315,354 313,187 0.4 0.7 0.7 318,046 314,079 297,135 7.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 337,683 336,037 331,312 0.5 1.4 1.0 336,587 336,016 311,101 8.2

 Total Inventories....................... 233,574 232,511 231,664 0.5 0.4 0.4 234,324 231,528 220,392 6.3

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 667,887 661,614 651,855 0.9 1.5 0.2 663,227 658,877 643,023 3.1

 Total Inventories....................... 293,965 292,669 290,255 0.4 0.8 0.8 295,263 291,455 273,793 7.8

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 821,881 816,497 805,524 0.7 1.4 0.2 813,980 811,259 798,095 2.0

 Total Inventories....................... 257,862 256,535 254,514 0.5 0.8 0.7 259,230 255,596 239,965 8.0

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 18,989 18,791 18,515 1.1 1.5 0.1 18,538 19,023 16,311 13.7

 Total Inventories....................... 30,766 30,561 30,580 0.7 -0.1 -0.8 31,151 30,829 26,996 15.4

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 53,939 54,167 54,100 -0.4 0.1 0.4 53,077 53,807 52,168 1.7

 Total Inventories....................... 41,953 41,831 42,049 0.3 -0.5 0.2 41,847 41,724 39,515 5.9

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 104,182 102,000 99,668 2.1 2.3 1.8 104,873 102,111 88,018 19.1

 Total Inventories....................... 52,350 51,961 51,738 0.7 0.4 0.9 52,316 51,458 50,301 4.0

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 122,588 123,404 122,082 -0.7 1.1 0.6 122,193 123,470 121,401 0.7

 Total Inventories....................... 46,054 45,811 45,462 0.5 0.8 0.5 46,452 45,341 43,721 6.2

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 5,329 5,472 5,332 -2.6 2.6 1.0 5,329 5,472 4,825 10.4

 Total Inventories....................... 4,751 4,595 4,740 3.4 -3.1 -2.5 4,774 4,592 4,386 8.8

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 28,310 28,436 28,215 -0.4 0.8 1.8 28,515 28,671 29,278 -2.6

 Total Inventories....................... 8,281 8,213 8,094 0.8 1.5 0.5 8,288 8,035 7,586 9.3

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 25,522 25,331 24,770 0.8 2.3 1.6 25,363 25,229 21,745 16.6

 Total Inventories....................... 14,956 14,848 14,640 0.7 1.4 1.4 14,942 14,686 13,432 11.2

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 484,198 480,460 474,212 0.8 1.3 -0.4 477,393 475,243 486,994 -2.0

 Total Inventories....................... 83,092 82,843 81,523 0.3 1.6 1.4 83,722 82,551 76,743 9.1

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,758 13,703 13,520 0.4 1.4 0.3 13,524 13,357 14,471 -6.5

 Total Inventories....................... 21,296 21,202 21,169 0.4 0.2 1.1 21,297 21,107 17,796 19.7

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 333,810 328,321 321,995 1.7 2.0 -0.4 329,742 325,562 324,865 1.5

 Total Inventories....................... 39,496 39,219 37,768 0.7 3.8 3.0 39,967 39,070 34,482 15.9

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 48,655 48,760 47,566 -0.2 2.5 -0.3 47,470 47,770 47,774 -0.6

 Total Inventories....................... 11,854 11,905 12,030 -0.4 -1.0 -0.6 11,966 11,964 12,445 -3.8

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 12,463 12,344 12,177 1.0 1.4 -0.1 12,543 12,376 11,458 9.5

 Total Inventories....................... 47,495 47,499 47,195 0.0 0.6 0.6 47,616 47,490 46,427 2.6

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 643,831 638,545 628,828 0.8 1.5 0.2 636,894 633,189 624,919 1.9

 Total Inventories....................... 151,815 150,956 149,001 0.6 1.3 0.9 152,495 149,816 142,676 6.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 503,910 497,859 488,898 1.2 1.8 0.2 499,863 494,709 483,305 3.4

 Total Inventories....................... 134,450 133,605 131,377 0.6 1.7 1.3 135,160 132,585 124,833 8.3

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 200,876 199,959 197,102 0.5 1.4 1.2 200,651 199,383 188,500 6.4

 Total Inventories................... 103,168 102,614 101,934 0.5 0.7 0.6 103,546 101,686 98,710 4.9

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 139,921 140,686 139,930 -0.5 0.5 0.2 137,031 138,480 141,614 -3.2

 Total Inventories....................... 17,365 17,351 17,624 0.1 -1.5 -1.7 17,335 17,231 17,843 -2.8

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-in-process, 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 64 publication levels. The survey methodology assumes that the month-tomonth changes of the total operations of those companies in the monthly survey effectively represent the month-tomonth 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-tomonth 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.

2011 Release Dates for M3 Survey 

Survey Month Advance Report 8:30 A.M. Full Report 10:00 A.M.

November 2010 Dec. 23, 2010 Jan. 4, 2011 

December 2010 Jan. 27, 2011 Feb. 3, 2011 

January 2011 Feb. 24, 2011 Mar. 4, 2011 

February 2011 Mar. 24, 2011 Mar. 31, 2011 

March 2011 Apr. 27, 2011 May 3, 2011 

April 2011 May 25, 2011 Jun. 2, 2011 

May 2011 Jun. 24, 2011 Jul. 5, 2011 

June 2011 Jul. 27, 2011 Aug. 3, 2011 

July 2011 Aug. 24, 2011 Aug. 31, 2011 

August 2011 Sep. 28, 2011 Oct. 4, 2011 

September 2011 Oct. 26, 2011 Nov. 3, 2011 

October 2011 Nov. 23, 2011 Dec. 5, 2011 

November 2011 Dec. 23, 2011