August U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $371.97 million according to the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT).This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO)program, was up 4.9 percent from July but down 18.1 percent when compared with the total of $454.19 million reported for August 2012. With a year-to-date total of $3,107.16 million, 2013 is down 8.0 percent compared with 2012. These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

“We’re finding many reasons for optimism within the manufacturing economy. In addition to the monthly gain for USMTO, the latest Purchasing Managers Index was at 56.2, its highest reading in more than two years,” said Douglas K. Woods, AMT president.“Because of manufacturing’s international connectivity, we also welcome the improvements seen in the global markets in Europe and Asia. These gains are expected to continue for U.S. manufacturing as we head toward 2014, but all of this hinges on avoiding a government-induced economic derailment.”

The 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.   

Please Note:  AMT’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.