April U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $396.92 million according to the Association For Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was down 21 percent from March but up 74.9 percent when compared with the total of $226.99 million reported for April 2010. With a year-to-date total of $1,595.98 million, 2011 is up 105.3 percent compared with 2010.

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These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.

“It is very encouraging to see year-to-date orders more than double last year’s pace particularly with the price of oil, unrest in the Middle East, and the disasters in Japan,” said Douglas K. Woods, President of AMT. “Despite April’s numbers being slightly lower than March, recent levels of outstanding order activity are now approaching pre-recession levels which is a positive long-term indicator for our industry.”

The U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) report, jointly compiled by the two trade associations representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. consumption data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology consumption provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

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

Northeast Region
At $58.26 million, April manufacturing technology consumption in the Northeast Region was down 24.8 percent when compared with the $77.43 million total for March but up 61.9 percent when compared with April a year ago. The year-to-date total of $240.64 million is 93.3 percent more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Southern Region
April manufacturing technology consumption in the Southern Region totaled $51.30 million, 12.8 percent more than March’s $45.47 million and 61.2 percent more than the April 2010 total. With a year-to-date total of $184.93 million, 2011 is up 49.7 percent when compared with 2010 at the same time.

Midwest Region
Midwest Region manufacturing technology consumption in April stood at $124.34 million, 39.5 percent less than the March total of $205.64 million but up 117.4 percent when compared with last April. At $554.39 million, the 2011 year-to-date total is 156.7 percent more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Central Region
Manufacturing technology consumption in the Central Region in April totaled $120.77 million, down 5.0 percent from March’s $127.14 million but up 64.0 percent when compared with the April 2010 figure. The $456.34 million year-to-date total is 112.6 percent higher than the total for the same period in 2010.

Western Region
Western Region manufacturing technology consumption totaled $42.25 million in April, 10.1 percent less than the $47.01 million total for March but 49.1 percent higher than the tally for April 2010. At $159.68 million, 2011 year-to-date is up 61.5 percent when compared with last year at the same time.