U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $507.9 million in March, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). As reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, the total was up 30% from February and up 3.2% compared with March 2012. The 2013 year-to-date total of $1,278 million is down 5% compared with 2012.
"When making a year-over-year comparison with these figures, it’s important to take into account just how strong 2012 was for our industry,"said Douglas Woods, AMT President. "Our members are doing much better than analysts projected in January. With vehicle sales and housing starts on the upswing, we can anticipate that gains in the consumer economy will also mean buoyancy for the industrial economy, and manufacturing will remain steady for the foreseeable future."
U.S. manufacturing technology orders also are reported on a regional basis for six geographic breakdowns of the U.S. In the Northeast region, manufacturing technology orders are down 6.5% as compared with 2012 over the same period, and Southeast region orders 2013 YTD are 21% lower than for 2012.
North Central-East region orders, on the other hand, are up 7.5% compared with same period 2012, and orders in the North Central-West region 2013 year-to-date are 6.5% higher than comparable figures for 2012.
The South Central region is down; the 2013 year-to-date total is 28% below the comparable figure for 2012; but in the West region, the 2013 year-to-date total is 4.6% above the the same period in 2012.
