March U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $495.97 million -- up 11.3% from February but down 1.4% when compared with the total of $502.89 million reported for March 2011, according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology.
With a year-to-date total of $1,356.70 million, 2012 is up 12.9% compared with 2011.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by
companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program.
“Manufacturing is expanding with no clear signal of a downturn in sight,” said Douglas K. Woods, AMT President. “Manufacturing added 34,000 jobs in March, capacity utilization is just shy of 80 percent and USMTO order growth confounds experts as it climbed 12 percent over 2011 levels. However, remaining obstacles to future manufacturing investment include a lack of access to credit, global supply issues, encroaching industry regulations and taxes, and overall political uncertainty.”
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.
Related content: Manufacturing Technology Demand Strong in 2011