FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Chris Savage or Adriana Stoica 

Manufacturing and Construction Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (11)-04 

CB11-93

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

April 2011 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in April 

decreased $7.1 billion or 3.6 percent to $189.9 billion, 

the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 

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

4.4 percent March increase. Excluding transportation, 

new orders decreased 1.5 percent. Excluding defense, 

new orders decreased 3.6 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down two of the last 

three months, had the largest decrease, $4.9 billion or 

9.5 percent to $46.7 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in April, 

down following four consecutive monthly increases, 

decreased $2.0 billion or 1.0 percent to $194.9 billion. 

This followed a 3.1 percent March increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also down following four 

consecutive monthly increases, had the largest decrease, 

$1.5 billion or 3.0 percent to $46.6 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

April, up twelve of the last thirteen months, increased 

$1.6 billion or 0.2 percent to $849.5 billion. This 

followed a 0.7 percent March increase. 

 Machinery, up fifteen consecutive months, had the 

largest increase, $2.2 billion or 2.2 percent to $103.6 

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

first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 

2.1 percent March increase. 

Inventories 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in April, up 

sixteen consecutive months, increased $3.2 billion or 0.9 

percent to $350.5 billion. This was at the highest level 

since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 

1992 and followed a 1.7 percent March increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up sixteen consecutive 

months, had the largest increase, $1.0 billion or 1.0 

percent to $106.1 billion. This was also at the highest 

level since the series was first published on a NAICS 

basis in 1992 and followed a 2.4 percent March increase. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in April 

decreased $5.3 billion or 7.3 percent to $67.6 billion. 

Shipments decreased $1.1 billion or 1.6 percent to $66.0 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $1.6 billion or 0.3 

percent to $495.5 billion. Inventories increased $2.2 

billion or 1.4 percent to $157.8 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in April 

decreased $0.5 billion or 5.8 percent to $8.0 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.4 billion or 4.5 percent to $8.1 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.1 billion to $147.7 

billion. Inventories increased $0.2 billion or 0.8 percent 

to $20.8 billion. 

Revised and Recently Benchmarked March Data 

 Revised and recently benchmarked seasonally adjusted 

March figures for all manufacturing industries were: 

new orders, $445.3 billion (revised from $444.2 billion); 

shipments, $445.2 billion (revised from $443.5 billion); 

unfilled orders, $847.8 billion (revised from $848.3 

billion); and total inventories, $579.6 billion (revised 

from $578.7 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 June 2, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The advance report on durable goods for May is scheduled for release on June 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 

Apr Mar Feb Mar - Feb - Jan - Apr Mar Apr Change

2011 2 2011 r 2011 Apr 2 Mar r Feb 2011 2 2011 r 2010 2011 2010 11/10

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 194,887 196,930 190,921 -1.0 3.1 0.0 193,780 213,886 183,760 755,051 700,541 7.8

 New Orders4

.............................. 189,885 197,019 188,693 -3.6 4.4 -1.1 184,595 220,992 177,545 757,951 694,264 9.2

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 148,269 148,854 145,199 -0.4 2.5 -0.2 149,409 159,390 140,685 574,233 526,572 9.1

 New Orders4

.............................. 143,175 145,422 141,906 -1.5 2.5 -0.6 142,662 160,652 134,845 569,163 519,761 9.5

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 184,596 186,305 180,511 -0.9 3.2 -0.1 184,095 201,969 171,794 715,134 650,559 9.9

 New Orders4

.............................. 179,691 186,422 179,099 -3.6 4.1 0.6 176,118 206,319 167,397 711,416 641,412 10.9

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 140,157 142,355 137,391 -1.5 3.6 0.0 137,709 155,976 129,621 542,256 502,296 8.0

 New Orders.............................. 141,793 148,023 141,357 -4.2 4.7 -1.7 137,179 167,451 131,731 572,257 520,244 10.0

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 22,633 22,565 21,706 0.3 4.0 2.5 23,533 24,671 19,015 88,872 70,264 26.5

 New Orders.............................. 21,978 22,327 20,808 -1.6 7.3 -8.3 22,587 25,120 19,329 90,592 75,157 20.5

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 24,791 24,969 24,378 -0.7 2.4 0.0 24,646 26,247 23,684 94,989 89,768 5.8

 New Orders.............................. 24,778 25,065 25,649 -1.1 -2.3 4.2 24,905 27,720 24,438 99,669 93,859 6.2

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 27,961 29,164 27,494 -4.1 6.1 1.6 28,633 32,776 26,447 111,314 99,526 11.8

 New Orders.............................. 30,152 31,213 28,934 -3.4 7.9 -1.1 31,494 35,268 27,230 122,245 103,647 17.9

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 30,801 29,747 30,250 3.5 -1.7 -2.5 30,740 31,217 30,556 118,135 113,901 3.7

 New Orders.............................. 23,944 23,774 24,657 0.7 -3.6 1.3 21,383 27,219 22,206 92,385 90,288 2.3

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 5,539 5,625 5,358 -1.5 5.0 -2.0 5,165 6,115 4,803 20,196 17,516 15.3

 New Orders.............................. 5,457 5,709 5,183 -4.4 10.1 -2.5 5,083 6,199 4,743 19,875 17,310 14.8

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,206 3,128 3,369 2.5 -7.2 -3.7 2,803 3,560 3,338 12,016 13,938 -13.8

 New Orders.............................. 2,712 2,808 3,136 -3.4 -10.5 -2.9 2,304 3,299 3,429 11,206 14,153 -20.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,055 10,262 9,885 -2.0 3.8 -0.5 9,969 11,046 9,613 38,846 35,964 8.0

 New Orders.............................. 10,167 10,694 10,349 -4.9 3.3 3.4 10,017 11,334 9,698 41,106 38,178 7.7

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 46,618 48,076 45,722 -3.0 5.1 0.6 44,371 54,496 43,075 180,818 173,969 3.9

 New Orders.............................. 46,710 51,597 46,787 -9.5 10.3 -2.4 41,933 60,340 42,700 188,788 174,503 8.2

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 29,197 30,520 28,547 -4.3 6.9 0.7 28,229 33,972 25,898 115,109 102,879 11.9

 New Orders.............................. 29,123 30,483 28,602 -4.5 6.6 1.1 28,173 33,705 25,868 115,103 102,552 12.2

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 6,836 6,959 6,788 -1.8 2.5 2.7 6,130 8,652 5,893 25,704 24,254 6.0

 New Orders.............................. 7,213 10,301 10,069 -30.0 2.3 39.9 4,655 12,823 7,927 30,083 25,117 19.8

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,241 4,416 4,281 -4.0 3.2 0.7 3,880 4,984 4,867 16,119 20,338 -20.7

 New Orders.............................. 4,060 4,459 4,206 -8.9 6.0 -13.8 3,199 5,774 4,005 18,213 21,616 -15.7

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 32,028 32,147 31,486 -0.4 2.1 -1.3 31,888 33,433 31,370 122,077 117,149 4.2

 New Orders.............................. 32,156 32,349 31,509 -0.6 2.7 -1.0 32,276 33,991 31,944 123,166 118,632 3.8

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 74,104 75,540 72,939 -1.9 3.6 0.5 71,949 84,260 69,578 286,495 273,955 4.6

 New Orders.............................. 75,665 81,488 76,970 -7.1 5.9 -0.4 71,274 93,949 70,816 307,641 281,277 9.4

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 66,014 67,068 64,758 -1.6 3.6 0.3 64,200 74,830 59,821 254,695 232,946 9.3

 New Orders.............................. 67,635 72,966 69,496 -7.3 5.0 4.8 64,464 82,077 62,298 269,430 238,429 13.0

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 62,074 63,122 60,872 -1.7 3.7 -0.2 60,683 69,806 56,333 240,554 218,837 9.9

 New Orders.......................... 63,870 65,558 62,204 -2.6 5.4 -0.1 62,780 72,785 56,693 252,079 223,173 13.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 8,090 8,472 8,181 -4.5 3.6 2.2 7,749 9,430 9,757 31,800 41,009 -22.5

 New Orders.............................. 8,030 8,522 7,474 -5.8 14.0 -32.0 6,810 11,872 8,518 38,211 42,848 -10.8

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 

Apr Mar Feb Mar - Feb - Jan - Apr Mar Apr 2011/

2011 2 2011 r 2011 Apr 2 Mar r Feb 2011 2 2011 r 2010 2010

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 849,456 847,820 842,152 0.2 0.7 0.5 859,459 859,989 816,621 5.2

 Total Inventories....................... 350,512 347,286 341,416 0.9 1.7 1.2 353,104 346,535 313,068 12.8

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 356,385 354,841 352,694 0.4 0.6 0.8 362,229 360,321 322,173 12.4

 Total Inventories....................... 244,389 242,182 238,733 0.9 1.4 1.1 245,583 241,601 220,969 11.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 683,398 681,665 675,969 0.3 0.8 0.7 689,437 688,759 649,788 6.1

 Total Inventories....................... 324,433 321,373 316,403 1.0 1.6 1.2 326,860 320,501 287,604 13.6

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 849,456 847,820 842,152 0.2 0.7 0.5 859,459 859,989 816,621 5.2

 Total Inventories....................... 286,914 283,887 278,388 1.1 2.0 1.1 289,250 282,898 254,465 13.7

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 32,417 33,072 33,310 -2.0 -0.7 -2.6 33,381 34,327 28,594 16.7

 Total Inventories....................... 33,151 32,599 31,890 1.7 2.2 1.9 33,457 32,098 28,192 18.7

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 62,549 62,562 62,466 0.0 0.2 2.1 63,968 63,709 62,746 1.9

 Total Inventories....................... 43,823 43,413 42,855 0.9 1.3 0.9 44,108 43,629 40,240 9.6

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 103,589 101,398 99,349 2.2 2.1 1.5 105,209 102,348 80,403 30.9

 Total Inventories....................... 56,088 55,522 54,491 1.0 1.9 1.1 56,625 55,965 50,111 13.0

 Computers and electronic products4:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 123,878 124,097 124,491 -0.2 -0.3 0.5 125,222 125,924 121,253 3.3

 Total Inventories....................... 47,614 47,270 46,477 0.7 1.7 1.2 47,367 46,505 43,014 10.1

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,333 3,415 3,331 -2.4 2.5 -5.0 3,333 3,415 3,338 -0.1

 Total Inventories....................... 5,707 5,414 5,459 5.4 -0.8 0.1 5,594 5,201 5,314 5.3

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 28,385 28,879 29,199 -1.7 -1.1 -0.8 28,781 29,280 29,786 -3.4

 Total Inventories....................... 9,615 9,576 9,219 0.4 3.9 2.6 9,570 9,431 8,561 11.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 25,240 25,128 24,696 0.4 1.7 1.9 25,512 25,464 20,845 22.4

 Total Inventories....................... 15,424 15,289 15,121 0.9 1.1 1.3 15,594 15,300 14,039 11.1

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 493,071 492,979 489,458 0.0 0.7 0.2 497,230 499,668 494,448 0.6

 Total Inventories....................... 106,123 105,104 102,683 1.0 2.4 1.3 107,521 104,934 92,099 16.7

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 13,471 13,545 13,582 -0.5 -0.3 0.4 13,790 13,846 13,573 1.6

 Total Inventories....................... 24,499 24,436 24,352 0.3 0.3 2.0 24,837 24,353 22,275 11.5

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 340,880 340,503 337,161 0.1 1.0 1.0 341,795 343,270 331,942 3.0

 Total Inventories....................... 56,485 55,454 53,686 1.9 3.3 1.3 57,388 55,360 44,555 28.8

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 53,002 53,183 53,140 -0.3 0.1 -0.1 54,199 54,880 52,349 3.5

 Total Inventories....................... 14,406 14,371 13,853 0.2 3.7 -0.1 14,416 14,329 14,151 1.9

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 8,712 8,584 8,382 1.5 2.4 0.3 8,937 8,549 8,332 7.3

 Total Inventories....................... 48,289 48,089 47,899 0.4 0.4 0.6 48,432 48,104 45,373 6.7

 Capital goods3:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 643,204 641,643 635,695 0.2 0.9 0.6 649,358 650,033 617,523 5.2

 Total Inventories....................... 178,521 176,155 171,874 1.3 2.5 1.1 179,941 175,952 156,110 15.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 495,501 493,880 487,982 0.3 1.2 1.0 498,275 498,011 468,323 6.4

 Total Inventories....................... 157,750 155,545 152,086 1.4 2.3 1.2 159,015 155,179 135,684 17.2

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 195,298 193,502 191,066 0.9 1.3 0.7 197,619 195,522 173,957 13.6

 Total Inventories................... 109,390 108,232 106,568 1.1 1.6 1.1 109,838 107,842 99,029 10.9

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 147,703 147,763 147,713 0.0 0.0 -0.5 151,083 152,022 149,200 1.3

 Total Inventories....................... 20,771 20,610 19,788 0.8 4.2 0.3 20,926 20,773 20,426 2.4

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.