What is in this article?:
- U.S. Machine Tool Orders Fell 11% in November
- Regional variations
- Second-consecutive monthly drop
- November totals fall 8.5% year-on-year
- Orders stronger in West, Northeast; weaker in Midwest, Central regions
Total U.S. manufacturing technology orders have had a generally downward trend during 2012 – though historically strong results for September have kept the annual total in positive territory.
U.S. manufacturers’ new orders for machine tools and related technology fell 11.0% from October to November 2012, to a total of $421,826,000, according to the monthly United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report released by AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology and based on actual data reported by participating companies. The report covers all orders for manufacturing technology, both domestically built products and imported ones.
November represented a second consecutive month of declining totals, following the 31.3% drop from September to October, $473,892,000.
It’s notable that the September result coincided with the biannual IMTS 2012 event, which drove total sales to $674,234 million.
The slower rate of manufacturing technology during November also represented an 8.5% drop versus the comparable figure for November 2012, $460,865,000. It brought the year-to-date USMTO total to $5,212.17 million, up 4.8% compared with the January-November 2011 total.
“Orders for all of 2012 remain full steam ahead, likely on pace to pass the totals of 2011 and echoing the overall strength of manufacturing for the year,” stated AMT president Douglas K. Woods. “While economic uncertainty remains a concern for both businesses and consumers, we anticipate a steady, albeit slower growth for manufacturing as we begin 2013.”
