Feb 13, 2017 -- Manufacturing technology orders finished 2016 down 4.0 percent compared to 2015, according to the December 2016 U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report from AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. Month over month, December orders were up 20.6 percent compared to November.

As orders have pulled to near-even with levels seen before the latest dip, the general manufacturing economy is showing signs of growth.  The January PMI from the Institute for Supply Management was 56, indicating expansion in manufacturing for the fifth consecutive month. There was also growth in capacity utilization and industrial production in December, the most recent month for which data are available.

In addition to those indicators, two other measures suggest a likely boost in capital spending for equipment and machinery: cutting tool consumption and spending from machine shops.

“There has been a significant uptick in shipments for cutting tools, the primary consumable in the manufacturing process, and machine shop spending for the month was up 32 percent from November,” said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. “Since large manufacturers will leverage their supply chain’s capital equipment before expanding their own capacity, gains for machine shop investment are promising because they  typically mark an overall greater need for capacity, and a broader upturn on the horizon.”
     
Orders for December 2016 totaled $406.72 million, up from November’s $337.24 million. The December monthly order value was the second highest for the year after September’s $503.67 million, which was when orders were registered from IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show. Total orders for 2016 were valued at $4,013.13 million compared to $4,178.23 million in 2015. USMTO is a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing companies invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

 


Note on fields marked D:   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.