FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT 

Adriana Stoica 

Economic Indicators Division 

(301) 763-4832 

M3-1 (14)-09 

CB14-190

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

September 2014 

New Orders 

 New orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September decreased $3.2 billion or 1.3 percent to 

$241.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced 

today. This decrease, down two consecutive months, 

followed an 18.3 percent August decrease. Excluding 

transportation, new orders decreased 0.2 percent. 

Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.5 percent. 

 

 Transportation equipment, also down two consecutive 

months, led the decrease, $2.8 billion or 3.7 percent to 

$73.4 billion. 

Shipments 

 Shipments of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up three of the last four months, increased 

$0.1 billion or 0.1 percent to $245.6 billion. This 

followed a 1.8 percent August decrease. 

 Fabricated metal products, up eight of the last nine 

months, drove the increase, $0.2 billion or 0.6 percent to 

$30.5 billion. 

 

Unfilled Orders 

 Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in 

September, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, 

increased $3.8 billion or 0.3 percent to $1,168.7 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.6 

percent August increase. 

 Transportation equipment, up twelve of the last thirteen 

months, led the increase, $1.0 billion or 0.1 percent to 

$742.7 billion.

Inventories 

 

 Inventories of manufactured durable goods in 

September, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, 

increased $1.8 billion or 0.4 percent to $404.8 billion. 

This was at the highest level since the series was first 

published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.4 percent 

August increase. 

 Transportation equipment, also up seventeen of the last 

eighteen months, led the increase, $1.0 billion or 0.8 

percent to $130.9 billion. 

Capital Goods 

 Nondefense new orders for capital goods in September 

decreased $4.6 billion or 5.4 percent to $82.0 billion. 

Shipments increased $0.4 billion or 0.5 percent to $80.2 

billion. Unfilled orders increased $1.8 billion or 0.2 

percent to $733.3 billion. Inventories increased $1.1 

billion or 0.6 percent to $184.9 billion. 

 Defense new orders for capital goods in September 

increased $0.6 billion or 7.4 percent to $9.4 billion. 

Shipments decreased $0.1 billion or 1.3 percent to $9.7 

billion. Unfilled orders decreased $0.3 billion or 0.2 

percent to $157.8 billion. Inventories decreased $0.3 

billion or 1.2 percent to $23.6 billion. 

Revised August Data 

 Revised seasonally adjusted August figures for all 

manufacturing industries were: new orders, $502.2 

billion (revised from $502.0 billion); shipments, $502.8 

billion (revised from $503.1 billion); unfilled orders, 

$1,164.9 billion (revised from $1,164.5 billion); and 

total inventories, $653.9 billion (unchanged). 

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 November 4, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. EST. The Advance Report on durable goods for October is 

scheduled for release on November 26, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. EST. 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. The U.S. 

Census Bureau updated its Application Programming Interface (API) with monthly and quarterly economic indicators. The API allows developers to combine Census Bureau statistics with other data sets to create tools for research on a variety of topics.
 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

Sep Aug Jul Aug - Jul - Jun - Sep Aug Sep Change

2014 2 2014 r 2014 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2014 2013 2014/2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Shipments................................ 245,586 245,441 249,815 0.1 -1.8 3.7 257,749 249,058 241,966 2,166,971 2,062,828 5.0

 New Orders4

.............................. 241,633 244,864 299,862 -1.3 -18.3 22.5 254,709 238,842 244,277 2,198,404 2,042,196 7.6

 Excluding transportation:

 Shipments................................ 173,115 173,163 173,373 0.0 -0.1 1.9 180,891 175,490 168,637 1,531,969 1,454,179 5.3

 New Orders4

.............................. 168,186 168,603 167,491 -0.2 0.7 -0.6 175,221 166,774 161,369 1,492,152 1,415,984 5.4

 Excluding defense:

 Shipments................................ 233,836 233,511 237,976 0.1 -1.9 3.7 244,817 237,269 228,165 2,062,453 1,954,716 5.5

 New Orders4

.............................. 230,654 234,273 289,442 -1.5 -19.1 24.9 242,148 230,666 229,489 2,097,011 1,947,591 7.7

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Shipments................................ 173,723 173,546 174,918 0.1 -0.8 2.9 183,302 175,923 170,033 1,523,808 1,446,921 5.3

 New Orders.............................. 177,528 180,969 233,140 -1.9 -22.4 28.7 187,032 173,580 179,036 1,623,424 1,487,857 9.1

 Primary metals:

 Shipments................................ 27,856 27,687 27,582 0.6 0.4 1.9 28,384 28,355 25,778 245,669 229,706 6.9

 New Orders.............................. 28,550 27,935 27,896 2.2 0.1 -0.4 28,206 27,599 25,320 248,109 231,922 7.0

 Fabricated metal products:

 Shipments................................ 30,458 30,264 30,261 0.6 0.0 0.3 31,988 31,669 29,848 270,663 262,013 3.3

 New Orders.............................. 30,801 30,588 30,673 0.7 -0.3 -0.1 31,593 31,340 29,344 273,662 272,185 0.5

 Machinery:

 Shipments................................ 36,825 36,963 36,926 -0.4 0.1 3.3 37,749 36,521 34,498 325,953 308,298 5.7

 New Orders.............................. 37,130 38,181 37,780 -2.8 1.1 -1.4 37,431 37,014 34,490 337,889 313,291 7.9

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Shipments................................ 29,166 29,592 29,955 -1.4 -1.2 3.1 31,317 28,505 31,021 257,991 245,938 4.9

 New Orders.............................. 22,316 22,893 22,504 -2.5 1.7 -0.8 26,318 20,897 25,250 197,518 189,117 4.4

 Computers and related products:

 Shipments................................ 1,960 2,079 2,315 -5.7 -10.2 -5.6 2,705 1,737 3,509 19,434 20,347 -4.5

 New Orders.............................. 2,042 2,156 2,443 -5.3 -11.7 -7.7 2,787 1,814 3,496 20,039 20,452 -2.0

 Communications equipment:

 Shipments................................ 3,805 3,740 3,850 1.7 -2.9 0.4 4,546 3,658 4,648 33,933 35,285 -3.8

 New Orders.............................. 3,533 4,236 4,180 -16.6 1.3 11.1 4,432 4,077 5,255 36,535 38,921 -6.1

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Shipments................................ 10,585 10,619 10,605 -0.3 0.1 1.9 11,202 10,845 10,522 93,593 92,545 1.1

 New Orders.............................. 11,076 10,883 10,590 1.8 2.8 -3.0 11,267 10,788 10,064 96,132 93,431 2.9

 Transportation equipment: 

 Shipments................................ 72,471 72,278 76,442 0.3 -5.4 8.0 76,858 73,568 73,329 635,002 608,649 4.3

 New Orders.............................. 73,447 76,261 132,371 -3.7 -42.4 73.3 79,488 72,068 82,908 706,252 626,212 12.8

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Shipments................................ 47,302 47,221 50,813 0.2 -7.1 10.1 49,137 48,884 46,932 420,816 402,976 4.4

 New Orders.............................. 47,514 47,547 50,904 -0.1 -6.6 10.0 49,302 49,286 46,744 421,379 402,350 4.7

 Nondefense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 13,406 13,192 13,394 1.6 -1.5 4.0 14,682 12,816 12,809 108,574 98,013 10.8

 New Orders.............................. 15,264 18,192 69,976 -16.1 -74.0 315.6 18,308 13,998 21,259 180,914 129,585 39.6

 Defense aircraft and parts:

 Shipments................................ 4,521 4,362 4,560 3.6 -4.3 3.3 5,017 4,309 5,498 40,066 41,721 -4.0

 New Orders.............................. 3,510 3,808 3,994 -7.8 -4.7 -32.7 3,997 2,711 6,281 37,037 35,011 5.8

 All other durable goods: 

 Shipments................................ 38,225 38,038 38,044 0.5 0.0 0.9 40,251 39,595 36,970 338,100 315,679 7.1

 New Orders.............................. 38,313 38,123 38,048 0.5 0.2 0.7 40,406 39,136 36,901 338,842 316,038 7.2

 Capital goods3

:

 Shipments................................ 89,865 89,578 89,195 0.3 0.4 1.9 96,516 88,265 89,365 779,298 744,707 4.6

 New Orders.............................. 91,353 95,345 144,635 -4.2 -34.1 52.5 98,900 87,480 98,027 860,461 782,713 9.9

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 80,189 79,772 79,602 0.5 0.2 1.9 85,849 78,528 78,348 693,899 657,109 5.6

 New Orders.............................. 81,985 86,625 136,323 -5.4 -36.5 60.9 88,107 80,584 86,102 777,632 705,998 10.1

 Excluding aircraft:

 Shipments........................... 70,238 70,390 70,307 -0.2 0.1 2.0 74,905 69,294 69,442 618,263 589,499 4.9

 New Orders.......................... 71,824 73,078 72,836 -1.7 0.3 -0.1 75,579 69,857 69,841 640,059 609,494 5.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Shipments................................ 9,676 9,806 9,593 -1.3 2.2 1.9 10,667 9,737 11,017 85,399 87,598 -2.5

 New Orders.............................. 9,368 8,720 8,312 7.4 4.9 -17.9 10,793 6,896 11,925 82,829 76,715 8.0

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

Sep Aug Jul Aug - Jul - Jun - Sep Aug Sep 2014/

2014 2 2014 r 2014 Sep 2 Aug r Jul 2014 2 2014 r 2013 2013

DURABLE GOODS

 Total: 

 Unfilled Orders4......................... 1,168,688 1,164,883 1,157,460 0.3 0.6 5.3 1,159,894 1,156,164 1,031,800 12.4

 Total Inventories....................... 404,776 402,977 401,361 0.4 0.4 0.4 403,870 406,836 381,124 6.0

 Excluding transportation:

 Unfilled Orders4

......................... 425,977 423,148 419,708 0.7 0.8 0.5 422,203 421,103 394,708 7.0

 Total Inventories....................... 273,850 273,091 272,038 0.3 0.4 0.5 273,068 275,847 262,289 4.1

 Excluding defense:

 Unfilled Orders4

........................... 980,520 975,944 967,182 0.5 0.9 6.6 972,115 968,014 834,953 16.4

 Total Inventories....................... 375,779 373,678 372,164 0.6 0.4 0.5 375,027 377,586 353,307 6.1

 Manufacturing with unfilled orders:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 1,168,688 1,164,883 1,157,460 0.3 0.6 5.3 1,159,894 1,156,164 1,031,800 12.4

 Total Inventories....................... 332,376 330,861 329,341 0.5 0.5 0.5 331,521 334,498 312,012 6.3

 Primary metals:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 40,175 39,481 39,233 1.8 0.6 0.8 38,493 38,671 34,343 12.1

 Total Inventories....................... 37,385 37,158 36,827 0.6 0.9 1.1 37,478 37,473 35,274 6.2

 Fabricated metal products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 87,066 86,723 86,399 0.4 0.4 0.5 86,796 87,191 89,124 -2.6

 Total Inventories....................... 49,931 49,847 49,646 0.2 0.4 0.6 49,880 50,139 47,529 4.9

 Machinery: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 120,879 120,574 119,356 0.3 1.0 0.7 119,683 120,001 106,783 12.1

 Total Inventories....................... 67,634 67,350 67,326 0.4 0.0 0.3 67,334 68,172 65,868 2.2

 Computers and electronic products4

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 144,754 143,846 142,545 0.6 0.9 0.5 144,681 142,910 135,409 6.8

 Total Inventories....................... 48,871 48,703 48,446 0.3 0.5 0.0 48,765 49,575 46,769 4.3

 Computers and related products:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 3,994 3,912 3,835 2.1 2.0 3.5 3,994 3,912 3,332 19.9

 Total Inventories....................... 4,704 4,659 4,702 1.0 -0.9 2.3 4,629 4,878 4,399 5.2

 Communications equipment:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 38,253 38,525 38,029 -0.7 1.3 0.9 38,129 38,243 34,066 11.9

 Total Inventories....................... 7,530 7,617 7,662 -1.1 -0.6 -1.7 7,442 7,709 7,503 -0.8

 Electrical equipment, appliances, 

 and components: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 25,296 24,805 24,541 2.0 1.1 -0.1 24,829 24,764 21,860 13.6

 Total Inventories....................... 16,616 16,760 16,636 -0.9 0.7 2.7 16,320 16,938 16,423 -0.6

 Transportation equipment: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 742,711 741,735 737,752 0.1 0.5 8.2 737,691 735,061 637,092 15.8

 Total Inventories....................... 130,926 129,886 129,323 0.8 0.4 0.3 130,802 130,989 118,835 10.1

 Motor vehicles and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 17,408 17,196 16,870 1.2 1.9 0.5 17,079 16,914 16,159 5.7

 Total Inventories....................... 27,347 26,959 26,667 1.4 1.1 0.3 27,540 27,033 25,571 7.7

 Nondefense Aircraft and parts:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 572,178 570,320 565,320 0.3 0.9 11.1 568,048 564,422 462,928 22.7

 Total Inventories....................... 73,804 73,035 73,024 1.1 0.0 0.8 73,472 73,909 64,983 13.1

 Defense Aircraft and parts: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 62,346 63,357 63,911 -1.6 -0.9 -0.9 61,482 62,502 65,649 -6.3

 Total Inventories....................... 14,327 14,588 14,421 -1.8 1.2 1.6 14,300 14,642 13,504 5.9

 All other durable goods: 

 Unfilled Orders......................... 7,807 7,719 7,634 1.1 1.1 0.1 7,721 7,566 7,189 7.4

 Total Inventories....................... 53,413 53,273 53,157 0.3 0.2 0.1 53,291 53,550 50,426 5.7

 Capital goods3

:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 891,131 889,643 883,876 0.2 0.7 6.7 885,608 883,224 779,220 13.7

 Total Inventories....................... 208,521 207,691 207,237 0.4 0.2 0.7 207,576 210,361 195,190 6.3

 Nondefense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 733,313 731,517 724,664 0.2 0.9 8.5 727,604 725,346 612,160 18.9

 Total Inventories....................... 184,905 183,800 183,434 0.6 0.2 0.9 184,087 186,573 172,420 6.8

 Excluding aircraft: 

 Unfilled Orders.................... 252,467 250,881 248,193 0.6 1.1 1.0 250,441 249,767 227,834 9.9

 Total Inventories................... 123,125 122,793 122,325 0.3 0.4 0.7 122,528 124,714 118,984 3.0

 Defense capital goods:

 Unfilled Orders......................... 157,818 158,126 159,212 -0.2 -0.7 -0.8 158,004 157,878 167,060 -5.4

 Total Inventories....................... 23,616 23,891 23,803 -1.2 0.4 -0.9 23,489 23,788 22,770 3.2

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.

Release Dates for the M3 Survey

Survey month Advance Report 

(8:30 a.m. release time)

Full Report 

(10:00 a.m. release time)

October 2014 November 26, 2014 December 5, 2014

November 2014 December 23, 2014 January 6, 2015

December 2014 January 27, 2015 February 3, 2015

January 2015 February 26, 2015 March 5, 2015

February 2015 March 25, 2015 April 2, 2015

March 2015 April 24, 2015 May 4, 2015

April 2015 May 26, 2015 June 2, 2015

May 2015 June 23, 2015 July 2, 2015

June 2015 July 27, 2015 August 4, 2015

July 2015 August 26, 2015 September 2, 2015

August 2015 September 24, 2015 October 2, 2015

September 2015 October 27, 2015 November 3, 2015

October 2015 November 25, 2015 December 3, 2015

November 2015 December 23, 2015 Not available at this time