July Manufacturing Technology Orders Tumble 11.8%

AMT's July report shows U.S manufacturing technology orders tumbling 11.8% from June.

Total orders in July came to just $318.33 million, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology. That figure shows an 11.1% slide from July 2014, which totaled $358.11 million.

The year-to-date figures also paint a rough picture – down 8.7% from 2014 at just $2.48 billion.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

"The mood among manufacturers right now is best described as 'caution cubed' – concerns around disruption in China, a drop in some key economic indicators like PMI and housing starts, and softening in large customer industries, including agriculture and energy," said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. "Additionally, consumer confidence dropped in July, and the situation in Europe first with the Greek bailout and now the large influx of refugees is creating added uncertainty. Given all of that, it's no surprise that manufacturers are wary about making large investments in capital equipment."

The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (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.