U.S. Census Bureau, Current Industrial Reports, Bemchmark Report for
Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: January 2001 through December 2006,
< med >Series M3-3 (06) (released May 2007); see < http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/m3/ >.
See also < http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/m3/PastPressReleases/Prel/2006/dec06prel.pdf >
(released 02 February 2007).
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
VALUE OF SHIPMENTS
The value of shipments data in the M3 survey
represents net selling values, f.o.b. plant, after
discounts and allowances and excluding freight
charges and excise taxes. The ASM uses the same
definition. However, the data reported in the two
surveys frequently are not equal because of
differences, discussed earlier, in the reporting unit.
For multiestablishment companies, the M3 reports
typically are company- or divisional-level reports
that encompass groups of plants or products. The
data reported are usually net sales and receipts from
customers and do not include the value of interplant
The reported sales are used to calculatemonth-to-month changes which bring forward the
universe estimates developed from the ASM. The
value of products made elsewhere under contract
from materials owned by the plant is also included in
shipments as well as receipts for contract work
performed for others, resales, miscellaneous
activities such as the sale of scrap and refuse,
installation and repair work performed by
employees of the plant, and the receipts for research
and development performed at the plant. In the
shipbuilding industry, the value of work done in a
given year varies considerably from the value of
shipments because of the long lead time between the
start and completion of a large vessel. In both the
annual survey and the M3, the value of work done
during the year, rather than the value of shipments, is
requested. The same procedure is followed for
aircraft produced on a cost-plus contract. Aircraft
produced on a fixed-price contract are reported in
the usual manner when the products are shipped.
Where value of work done is reported in place of
shipments, the work-in-process inventories are
normally charged to the customer as costs are
incurred and are not accumulated as finished goods
inventories by the shipyard or the aircraft producer.
The value of shipments figures developed from the
ASM contain duplication at the M3 industry
category and higher level aggregates, since the
products of some four-digit SIC industries are used
as materials by other industries within the same M3
industry aggregate. The significance of the
duplication within the specific M3 industry
categories varies depending on their four-digit
industry composition. It is most pronounced in a few
highly integrated industry areas, such as primary
metals and motor vehicles and parts.
INVENTORIES
INVENTORIES
Inventories in the M3 survey are collected on a current
cost or pre-LIFO (last in, first out) basis.Because different
inventory valuation methods are reflected in the reported
data, the estimates differ slightly from replacement cost
estimates.Companies using the LIFO method for valuing
inventories report their pre-LIFO value; that is, the adjustment
to their base-period prices is excluded.In the ASM,
inventories are collected according to this same definition.
Inventory data are requested from respondents by
stage of fabrication; that is, finished goods, work in process,
and raw materials and supplies.Ther e are several
limitations to the quality of these data for two reasons.
First, response to the stage of fabrication inquiries is
lower than for total inventories because some companies
do not keep their data monthly at this level of detail; those
companies which do maintain monthly detailed records
frequently do not have data for all three stages of fabrication
or have quantity (physical volume) data only.Second,
a product considered to be a finished good in one industry,
such as steel mills shapes, may be reported as a raw
material in another industry, such as stamping plants.
Therefore, within the three-digit NAICS subsectors, the
same type of inventory may be included under different
stage of fabrication categories.Like total inventories,
stage of fabrication inventories are also benchmarked to
the ASM pre-LIFO data, but the stage of fabrication data
are benchmarked at the three-digit subsector level.
NEW ORDERS RECEIVED AND UNFILLED ORDERS
New orders, as reported in the monthly survey, are
net of order cancellations and include orders
received and filled during the month as well as
orders received for future delivery. They also include
the value of contract changes which increase or
decrease the value of the unfilled orders to which
they relate. Orders are defined to include those
supported by binding legal documents such as
signed contracts, letters of award, or letters of intent,
although in some industries this definition may not be
strictly applicable. In the case of letters of intent, the
full amount of the sales value is included if the parties
are in substantial agreement on the amount;
otherwise, only the funds specifically authorized to
be expended are included. Unfilled orders include
orders (as defined above) that have not been
reflected as shipments. Generally, unfilled orders at
the end of the reporting period are equal to unfilled
orders at the beginning of the period plus net new
orders received less net shipments.
referenced on dataset section Notes (#2)
