YTD U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Up 4.1 Percent Over 2011

Carried by big increases in order volume in the Midwest and Western regions and other manufacturers working down earlier backlogs, the overall demand for tools that enable production of all manufactured goods may still hit a peak this year.

August U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $470.44 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 3.4 percent from July but down 4.7 percent when compared with the total of $493.60 million reported for August 2011. With a year-to-date total of $3,606.56 million, 2012 is up 4.1 percent compared with 2011.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program. “It’s a great sign for the industry to see both month-to-month and year-over-year gains in August, historically one of the slowest months for orders,” said Douglas K. Woods, the president of AMT. “With U.S. manufacturers still working through five months’ worth of backlogs, along with what seemed to be exceptional order activity at IMTS this September, we may very well see a record year for USMTO over and above the last peak in 2011.”

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.

U.S. manufacturing technology orders are also reported on a regional basis for five geographic breakdowns of the United States.

NORTHEAST REGION
Manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region in August totaled $49.18 million, down 23.9 percent from July’s $64.60 million and down 24.4 percent when compared with the August 2011 figure. At $490.68 million, 2012 year-to-date is down 2.0 percent when compared with 2011 at the same time.

SOUTHERN REGION
Southern Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $64.77 million in August, a 1.0 percent increase from the $64.11 million total for July and 11.7 percent more than the total for August 2011. The year-to-date total of $515.92 million is 12.0 percent more than the comparable figure for 2011.

MIDWEST REGION
At $152.95 million, August manufacturing technology orders in the Midwest Region were up 11.0 percent when compared with the $137.74 million total for July and up 6.6 percent when compared with August a year ago. With a year-to-date total of $1,158.02 million, 2012 is up 1.6 percent when compared with 2011 at the same time.

CENTRAL REGION
August manufacturing technology orders in the Central Region totaled $124.49 million, 4.8 percent more than July’s $118.77 million but down 30.0 percent when compared with the August 2011 figure. At $1,036.10 million, the 2012 year-to-date total was 7.8 percent more than the comparable figure for 2011.

WESTERN REGION
Western Region manufacturing technology orders in August stood at $79.04 million, 13.5 percent more than the July total of $69.65 million and 60.5 percent higher than the figure for August 2011. The $405.85 million year-to-date total was 0.4 percent above the total for the same period in 2011. www.amtonline.org