New orders for machine tools and related technology rose 40.7% to $667.47 million in September, from $474.31 million in August. The data is included in the monthly U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report, which includes actual results of domestic sales of machine tools and associated equipment, included imports. It is compiled by AMT-The Association for Manufacturing Technology, and includes summaries of total domestic and regional sales.
The September result covers the period of IMTS 2012, which according to anecdotal reports was the scene of heavy interest and investment in new manufacturing technology. Now, it’s clear that September featured the highest monthly sales total in the past 13 months, and improves on the September 2011 result ($588.80 million) by 13.4%.
“In the 17 years that this data has been collected, there is only one other month that broke $600 million,” offered Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. “Both of those were in months that reflected sales from IMTS, showing its strength as the largest manufacturing event in the Americas.
“It’s possible we could average $450 million a month for all of 2012,” Woods continued, “the largest year ever for this program. This speaks to tremendous strength in the manufacturing industry, and is proof that IMTS 2012 was the strongest show seen in years.”
The positive results were demonstrated across all regions. In the Northeast, September manufacturing technology orders rose 42.6% to $70.75 million, up from $49.63 million in August.
However, the Northeast total trails the September 2011 result ($112.46 million) by 37.1%, and with a nine-month total of $561.88 million, the year-to-date sales total is off the 2011 pace by 8.4%.
In the South, new orders totaled $103.06 million in September, rising 57.9% over the August result ($65.29 million), and 32.1% over the $78.01 million recorded for September 2011. The 2012 year-to-date sales for the region now stand at $619.54 million, 15.0% more than the $538.78 million recorded for the comparable period for 2011.
The Midwest regional sales of machine tools and related technology amounted to $206.83 million during September, a 34.2% increase over the $154.11 million total for August, and a 20.7% improvement over sales of $171.40 million posted for September 2011. The region’s 2012 year-to-date total is now $1,369.92 million, up 4.5% over the comparable figure ($1,310.79 million) for January-September 2011.
In the Central region, September manufacturing technology orders rose 43.5% to $182.10 million, from$126.94 million in August, and increased 14.8% from the $158.69 recorded during September 2011. The region’s nine-month total for 2012 is now $1,220.67 million, up 9.0% against the $1,119.42 million posted for the comparable figure for 2011.
Finally, in the West, September manufacturing technology new orders rose 33.7% to $104.72 million, from $78.34 million during August. The new figure also is 53.4% higher than the $68.25 million in new orders during September 2011.
The Western region’s annual total now stands at $510.09 for the first nine months of 2012, 8.0% over the $472.48 million totaled during January-September 2011.
