Manufacturing technology orders jump in March 2017

Manufacturing technology orders continued to make gains in March, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report from AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. Orders were up 34.8% compared to February, and up 3.3% compared to March 2016.

This is good news, as it follows the same forward momentum noted in February when U.S. manufacturing technology orders were up 19.6% from January, and were up 1.7% year over year.

Leading indicators show that promising gains for manufacturing are likely to continue. Consumer sentiment is on the rise, which will lead to more purchases of durable goods like cars, appliances, electronics, and housing. Cutting tool shipments have grown, a marker of increased productivity. Machine shop spending for capital equipment has also been on the rise, indicating that manufacturers are using their services for excess capacity.

Orders for March 2017 totaled $407.53 million, up from $302.27 million in February. Year-to-date orders total $961.13 million, down 1.4% from the same point in 2016. USMTO is a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing companies invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.