The US Manufacturing Technology Orders report (USMTO) for December 2015 showed that order values grew 20.4% compared to the prior month, according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. For all of 2015, the year’s total orders were down 17.4% compared to 2014.

While the month-to-month gain seemingly indicates an upturn for the manufacturing technology market, it is important to note that the average November-to-December gain since 2010 has been 22.4% – meaning that the end of 2015 came in below average. 

“The fourth quarter turned out better than anticipated thanks to investment from the aerospace, automotive and consumer electronics industries, but the overall market will remain flat through the first three quarters of this year due to market forces like the strong dollar and low oil prices,” said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. “It’s typical for December orders to rise as many companies invest their year-end profits into new equipment, and technology builders and suppliers try to reduce their inventories with discounted products. This uptick in orders does not change our forecast for the year.”

December saw the second-highest monthly order totals in 2015, with the most orders coming in March – a time when companies are looking to lessen their tax liability for the April filing deadline by making investments in new equipment.

 Equipment purchases for some industries, especially those related to defense, were helped by Congress’ passage of a two-year budget deal that temporarily lifts the automatic spending cuts known as “sequester,” ensuring that federal defense programs remain intact through 2017. More of a surprise was a surge in orders from the consumer electronics industry, which defies the logic that most electronics manufacturing largely happens outside the United States.

The overall market for manufacturing technology is likely to remain soft into the third quarter of 2016, but industry forecasts predict that orders for the overall year will finish ahead 3% compared to 2015, with much of the activity coming in the fourth quarter. September’s IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology is anticipated to create a boost in sales later this year. 

December 2015 manufacturing technology orders valued $401.16 million, compared to $511.10 million in December 2014, a decline of 21.5%. The total manufacturing technology order value for all of 2015 was $4,187.83 million, vs. $5,072.50 million in 2014. This data is a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

April U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $384.81 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 8.1% from March’s $418.67 million and down 1.0% when compared with the total of $388.51 million reported for April 2014. With a year-to-date total of $1,458.90 million, 2015 was down 8.5% when compared with 2014.

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

“Right now capital equipment makers are feeling the effects of a stronger dollar, which creates a drag on exports, and lower oil and natural gas prices, which means less spending on equipment investments from the energy industry,” said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. “But what is a negative now should help us later – imported components for capital equipment are costing less, and businesses will accumulate savings from lower fuel prices in the coming months, meaning more money for capital investment. We believe investment in manufacturing will remain steady, and overall performance for the year will be as strong as we saw in 2013 and 2014.”

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.

Detailed information can be obtained from here 

August US manufacturing technology orders totaled $356.69 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 0.4% from July but down 6.0% when compared with the total of $379.26 million reported for August 2013. With a year-to-date total of $3,076.98 million, 2014 is down 2.4% compared with 2013.

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

“US manufacturing activity remains at a brisk pace, and especially encouraging for manufacturing technology orders was a recent uptick in durable goods orders, particularly in aerospace, automotive, and several other key industries,” said Douglas K. Woods, President, AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “There has also been good news in factory employment as more manufacturers add workers to their payrolls. With AMT’s Global Forecasting & Marketing Conference taking place this week in Detroit featuring some of the top industry analysts and economists, we believe we will be hearing more positive news from their forecasts for the manufacturing technology industry over the next few years.”

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.

US manufacturing technology orders are also reported on a regional basis for six geographic breakdowns of the United States.

Northeast Region
At $60.40 million, August manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region were down 2.1% when compared with last August’s $61.69 million. The year-to-date total of $495.75 million was 6.8% less than the equivalent figure for 2013.

Southeast Region
At $287.94 million, 2014 year-to-date manufacturing technology orders in the Southeast Region were 0.5% higher than the comparable figure for 2013.

North Central-East Region
August manufacturing technology orders in the North Central-East Region stood at $87.42 million, down 4.2% from July’s $91.25 million and down 11.5% when compared with the $98.83 million tally in August 2013. The 2014 year-to-date total of $844.02 million was 4.0% more than the 2013 total at the same time.

North Central-West Region
North Central-West Region manufacturing technology orders in August totaled $65.35 million, down 6.8% when compared with the $70.12 million for August 2013. With a year-to-date total of $507.68 million, 2014 was off 12.9% compared with 2013 at the same time.

South Central Region
Year-to-date manufacturing technology orders in the South Central Region totaled $482.12 million, 1.2% less than the comparable figure for 2013.

NOTE:  AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology’s intent is to always provide timely and accurate economic reports to our community. For this reason, we are making an adjustment to the USMTO report. Due to a change in survey participants the year over year comparison number for Metal Forming and Fabricating is not an accurate reflection of the data. We have adjusted the data for the past 12 months to take this change into consideration. The new chart reflects a consistent year over year comparison of the data at the current participation level.