Manufacturing technology orders up 80.5 percent from 2010

October U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $463.32 million according to AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program, was down 22.4 percent from September but up 20.3 percent when compared with the total of $385.21 million reported for October 2010. With a year-to-date total of $4,529.11 million, 2011 is up 80.5 percent compared with 2010.

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

"Manufacturing technology orders through October have already surpassed the total value accumulated in 2007,"said AMT President Douglas Woods. "The beginning of 2012 will be a little slow as tax incentives pulled some orders back into 2011, which will likely make 2012 growth softer."

The 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 also is reported on a regional basis for five geographic breakdowns of the United States.

Northeast Region — At $64.11 million, October manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region were down 43.0 percent when compared with the $112.41 million total for September and down 34.1 percent when compared with October a year ago. The year-to-date total of $677.09 million is 44.5 percent more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Southern Region — October manufacturing technology orders in the Southern Region totaled $55.87 million, 28.4 percent less than September’s $78.04 million but 40.6 percent more than the October 2010 total. With a year-to-date total of $568.93 million, 2011 is up 60.7 percent when compared with 2010 at the same time.

Midwest Region — Midwest Region manufacturing technology orders in October stood at $149.95 million, 13.0 percent less than the September total of $172.26 million but up 30.5 percent when compared with last October. At $1,523.76 million, the 2011 year-to-date total is 105.4 percent more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Central Region — Manufacturing technology orders in the Central Region in October totaled $138.74 million, down 16.4 percent from September’s $165.98 million but up 49.3 percent when compared with the October 2010 figure. The $1,232.28 million year-to-date total is 85.3 percent higher than the total for the same period in 2010.

Western Region — Western Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $54.65 million in October, 19.9 percent less than the $68.25 million total for September but 35.3 percent higher than the tally for October 2010. At $527.05 million, 2011 year-to-date is up 88.8 percent when compared with last year at the same time.