May Manufacturing Technology Orders Down
Though booked orders were down 10 percent from April and 17.5 percent from a year earlier, meaning year-to-date orders are down 1.4 percent compared with 2013, there are still some positive factors that indicate continued investments in capital expansion through year’s end.
Posted: July 16, 2014
In May 2014, U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $351.93 million according to AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 10.0 percent from April and down 17.5 percent when compared with the total of $426.40 million reported for May 2013. With a year-to-date total of $1,971.83 million, 2014 is down 1.4 percent compared with 2013.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.
“Expectations for the 2014 manufacturing technology market were for a soft first half of the year, followed by a stronger second half. The fluctuations seen in the past few months are on track with forecasts, and all indications are that U.S. manufacturing activity is and will remain strong,” said Douglas K. Woods, the AMT president. “The PMI continues to stay above 50, capacity utilization is on the rise, and both auto sales and aerospace backlogs are growing, all indications that our customers’ businesses are healthy. We expect continued investments in capital expansion through year’s end.”
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.
AMT’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
Year-to-date 2014 manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region through May totaled $337.42 million, 2.9 percent more than the comparable figure for 2013.
Sortheast Region
At $180.61 million, year-to-date manufacturing technology orders in the Southeast Region were up 5.5 percent when compared with the total for 2013 at the same time.
North Central-East Region
May manufacturing technology orders in the North Central-East Region totaled $81.83 million, down 16.8 percent from April’s $98.42 million and down 16.7 percent when compared with last May. At $551.42 million, year-to-date 2014 was up 6.2 percent when compared with 2013 at the same time.
North Central-West Region
May manufacturing technology orders in the North Central-West Region totaled $53.70 million, down 17.8 percent when compared with April’s $65.37 million and 27.2 percent less than the May 2013 total of $73.76 million.
South Central-East Region
With a year-to-date total of $313.77 million, manufacturing technology orders in the South Central Region were up 0.9 percent when compared with 2013 at the same time.
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