Manufacturing technology orders up in September

Posted on Nov 11, 2013 in Nuts & Bolts

September U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $397.57 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 5.8% from August but down 31.1% when compared with the total of $577.17 million reported for September 2012. With a year-to-date total of $3,507.71 million, 2013 is down 11.3% compared with 2012. These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

“The monthly gain in USMTO indicates that manufacturers are making capital investments, and we expect these gains will grow in 2014. The year-over-year decline was anticipated due to the typical high volume during an IMTS year, which we saw in September 2012,” said Douglas K. Woods, President, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “A recent uptick in factory orders shows strong activity in a number of industries, particularly aerospace, which is forecast to grow more than 10% in the coming year. We also expect growth in automotive and energy, good news for manufacturing overall.

The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report, compiled by the trade association representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology orders provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

NOTE: AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology’s intent is to always provide timely and accurate economic reports to our community. For this reason, we are making an adjustment to the USMTO report. Due to a change in survey participants the year over year comparison number for Metal Forming and Fabricating is not an accurate reflection of the data. We have adjusted the data for the past 12 months to take this change into consideration. The new chart reflects a consistent year over year comparison of the data at the current participation level. U.S. manufacturing technology orders are also reported on a regional basis for six geographic breakdowns of the United States.

Northeast Region
Northeast Region manufacturing technology orders in September totaled $60.76 million, down 1.1% when compared with August’s $61.46 million and down 30.0% when compared with September a year ago. With a year-to-date total of $583.19 million, 2013 is up 0.9% when compared with 2012 at the same time.

Southeast Region
Year-to-date Southeast Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $320.66 million, down 19.5% when compared with 2012 at the same time.

North Central-East Region
North Central-East Region manufacturing technology orders in September stood at $105.83 million, up 10.8% when compared with August’s $95.55 million but down 27.8% when compared with September 2012. The $906.05 million year-to-date total is 10.3% less than the comparable figure for 2012.

North Central-West Region
Manufacturing technology orders in the North Central-West Region in September totaled $72.56 million, up 3.2% from August’s $70.33 million but 52.6% less than the September 2012 total. At $646.78 million, 2013 year-to-date is 16.1% less than the total for 2012 at the same time.

South Central Region
At $60.59 million, South Central Region manufacturing technology orders in September were 13.0% higher than August’s $53.62 million but 22.5% lower than in September 2012. The year-to-date total of $541.76 million was down 21.7% when compared with 2012 at the same time.

West Region
With a year-to-date total of $509.26 million, West Region manufacturing technology orders were level with the year ago total.