U.S. manufacturing technology orders decreased 31.3 percent from September to October, to $459.2 million, according to AMT, The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 0.1 percent from October 2011. With a year-to-date total of $4.8 billion, 2012 is up 5.3 percent from 2011.
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“Orders continue to be on pace for a record-setting year, and a monthly drop was fully expected in the month following IMTS,” Douglas K. Woods, AMT president, said. “While manufacturing continues to play a strong role in economic recovery, our main concern heading toward the end of the year is that lawmakers do what’s necessary to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff,’ and the implications it could have on the broader economy.”
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 October were $63.7 million, down 19.7 percent from September and down 3.6 from October 2011. At $640.8 million, 2012 year-to-date is down 5.7 percent from 2011.
Southern Region
Southern Region manufacturing technology orders were $60.7 million in October, down 41.1 percent from September but up 12.8 percent from October 2011. The year-to-date total of $683.2 million is 15.3 percent above 2011.
Midwest Region
At $162.8 million, manufacturing technology orders in the Midwest Region were down 20 percent from September but up 10.3 percent from October a year ago. With a year-to-date total of $1.5 billion, 2012 is up 4.9 percent from 2011.
Central Region
Manufacturing technology orders in the Central Region were $124.8 million, 30.2 percent lower than September and down 8.8 percent from the prior year. At $1.3 billion, the 2012 year-to-date total was 6.8 percent above 2011.
Western Region
Western Region manufacturing technology orders in October were $47.3 million, down 54.6 percent from September and 14.3 percent lower than October 2011. The $557.6 million year-to-date total was 5.7 percent above 2011.