U.S. Manufacturing Orders Total Over $430 Million in May

The good news is that manufacturing technology orders spiked up 13.6 percent in May, but  the bad news is that overall orders is still down year-to-date by 7.6 percent.

May U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $430.06 million according to AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 13.6 percent from April but down 7.6 percent when compared with the total of $465.38 million reported for May 2012.

With a year-to-date total of $2,085.14 million, 2013 is down 6.9 percent 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.

“A rise in U.S. manufacturing technology orders is welcome as we move into the summer months, which are typically soft. New technologies are creating change in automotive production, while many aerospace manufacturers are making shifts within their supply chains,” said Patrick W. McGibbon, the vice president of AMT.

He added, “Contract machining is also seeing growth thanks to the cost advantages of manufacturing within the U.S. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment within the U.S. continues to increase, and all of these factors are contributing to new capital investment within manufacturing.”

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 six geographic breakdowns of the United States.

Northeast Region
Northeast Region manufacturing technology orders in May stood at $71.56 million, down slightly from the April total of $72.25 million but 5.1 percent higher than the figure for May 2012. The $322.59 million year-to-date total is 2.1 percent lower than the total for the same period in 2012.

Southeast Region
Manufacturing technology orders in the Southeast Region in May totaled $43.57 million, up 23.7 percent when compared with April’s $35.23 million and level with the May 2012 total. At $183.51 million, 2013 year-to-date is 12.4 percent less than the total for 2012 at the same time.

North Central-East Region
North Central-East Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $100.46 million in May, up 36.0 percent from the $73.89 million total for April but 29.5 percent less than the total for May 2012. The year-to-date total of $537.92 million is 8.8 percent lower than the comparable figure for 2012.

North Central-West Region
At $73.46 million, May manufacturing technology orders in the North Central-West Region were down slightly when compared with the $73.61 million total for April and down 16.1 percent when compared with May a year ago. With a year-to-date total of $407.25 million, 2013 is down 0.5 percent when compared with 2012 at the same time.

South Central Region
May manufacturing technology orders in the South Central Region totaled $65.29 million, 9.9 percent more than April’s $59.42 million and up 6.5 percent when compared with the May 2012 figure. At $320.22 million, the 2013 year-to-date total is 23.8 percent less than the comparable figure for 2012.

West Region
May manufacturing technology orders in the West Region totaled $75.72 million, 18.0 percent higher than April’s $64.17 million and up 20.6 percent when compared with the total for May 2012. With a year-to-date total of $313.65 million, 2013 is up 11.6 percent when compared with 2012 at the same time.

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