Manufacturing technology orders up 66.4 percent in 2011

December U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $519.98 million according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) program, was up 12.2 percent from November and up 12.7 percent when compared with the total of $461.48 million reported for December 2010. With a year-to-date total of $5,508.81 million, 2011 was up 66.4 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.

"USMTO finished its strongest year in more than a decade as manufacturing led the U.S.recovery into 2012,” said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. “The 67 percent increase is nearly 20 points higher than forecasters predicted, which is great news in terms of reducing the foreign trade deficit. Manufactured goods represent more than 65 percent of trade, so the rise of U.S. manufactured products will help reduce our reliance on imports and support growth in exports."

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 $90.76 million, December manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region were up 9.1 percent when compared with the $83.18 million total for November and up 28.0 percent when compared with December a year ago. The year-to-date total of $852.96 million was 40.7 percent more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Southern Region — December manufacturing technology orders in the Southern Region totaled $91.29 million, 68.7 percent more than November's $54.11 million and 82.9 percent more than the December 2010 total. With a year-to-date total of $712.88 million, 2011 was up 59.0 percent when compared with 2010 at the same time.

Midwest Region — Midwest Region manufacturing technology orders in December stood at $178.83 million, 19.8 percent more than the November total of $149.30 million and up 11.1 percent when compared with December 2010. At $1,849.55 million, the 2011 year-to-date total was 81.6 percent more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Central Region — Manufacturing technology orders in the Central Region in December totaled $115.01 million, down 10.1 percent from November's $127.96 million and down 6.7 percent when compared with the December 2010 figure. The $1,472.77 million year-to-date total was 69.6 percent higher than the total for the same period in 2010.

Western Region — Western Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $44.10 million in December, 10.0 percent less than the $49.00 million total for November and 21.7 percent less than the tally for December 2010. At $620.66 million, 2011 year-to-date was up 68.0 percent when compared with 2010 at the same time.