Machine Tool Orders Slow Down
Spending in January dropped almost 33 percent from the month before, when tax incentives drove year-end sales.
Posted: March 10, 2015
January U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $341.17 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean,VA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 32.9 percent from December’s $508.57 million and down 4.8 percent when compared with the total of $358.45 million reported for January 2014.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.
“To understand why we saw this drop in orders for January, December 2014 saw a sharp increase in sales. This was driven by many end-of-year orders that had been rushed through in order to qualify for tax rebate provisions that were enacted at the last minute for 2014,” said Douglas K. Woods, the AMT president. “This is evidenced by the comparatively lower average order value seen in December vs. January, meaning that most end-of-year orders were for less expensive, in-stock machines that could be shipped quickly. The decline wasn’t unexpected, and we still foresee the manufacturing economy keeping on a stable path.”
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
January manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region totaled $86.75 million, 2.2 percent higher than the $84.85 million total for December.
Southeast Region
At $26.33 million, January manufacturing technology orders in the Southeast Region were off 29.4 percent when compared with January a year ago.
North Central-East Region
North Central-East Region manufacturing technology orders in January stood at $93.94 million, down 43.2 percent from December’s $165.54 million but 10.5 percent higher than the January 2014 total.
North Central-West Region
With a January total of $57.10 million, North Central-West Region manufacturing technology orders were down 25.5 percent from December’s $76.65 million but up 16.7 percent from last January.
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