July U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $449.69 million, according to AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 2.3 percent from June and down 10.5 percent when compared with the total of $502.33 million reported for July 2011. With a year-to-date total of $3.13 billion, 2012 is up 5.4 percent compared with 2011.

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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 USMTO program.

"It is typical for orders to slow during July and August. That slowdown is even more pronounced in summers ahead of IMTS (the International Manufacturing Technology Show) as manufacturers attending the show wait to take their manufacturing technology 'shopping lists' with them to Chicago," said Douglas K. Woods, AMT president.

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
July manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region totaled $64.01 million, 1.2 percent more than June's $63.23 million and up 9.2 percent when compared with the July 2011 figure. At $441.46 million, the 2012 year-to-date total was 1.3 percent more than the comparable figure for 2011.

Southern Region
Southern Region manufacturing technology orders in July stood at $63.87 million, 27.1 percent less than June's $87.59 million and down 20.1 percent when compared with July a year ago. At $450.89 million year-to-date, the 2012 total is up 12.0 percent when compared with 2011 at the same time.

Midwest Region
Manufacturing technology orders in the Midwest Region in July totaled $138.64 million, up 2.7 percent from June's $135.06 million but down 7.8 percent when compared with the July 2011 figure. The year-to-date total of $1,006.66 million is 1.1 percent more than the comparable figure for 2011.

Central Region
Central Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $113.43 million in July, down 16.1 percent from the $135.12 million total for June but up 6.8 percent when compared with the total for July 2011. At $906.26 million, 2012 year-to-date is up 15.8 percent when compared with 2011 at the same time.

Western Region
At $69.74 million, July manufacturing technology orders in the Western Region were up 77.4 percent when compared with the $39.31 million total for June but down 34.9 percent when compared with July a year ago. With a year-to-date total of $326.97 million, 2012 is down 7.9 percent when compared with 2011 at the same time.