American factories ordered less manufacturing technology in October, with order value tumbling 32.9 percent compared to September, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology’s latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology report.
Even so, year-over-year numbers are up 0.2 percent from October 2015. Orders for October 2016 were valued at $335.48 million, the AMT says in its latest report.
Year-to-date, orders are down 5.6 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
Even so, the AMT says orders have begun to emerge from the trough seen throughout 2016, and other signs indicate the manufacturing economy is improving – slowly. The November 2016 Purchasing Managers’ Index from the Institute for Supply Management was 53.2, indicating expansion in manufacturing. Factory output also improved slightly in October.
“It’s certainly welcome to see signs of recovery for manufacturing overall, but marked improvement for manufacturing technology orders is not forecast until the second quarter of 2017,” says AMT president Douglas K. Woods, in a statement.
“Unless manufacturers feel pressed on capacity, they aren’t likely to make substantial capital investments in machinery and equipment. Those signs of gradual improvement and increased utilization rates are emerging, albeit slowly.”
Year-to-date, orders for 2016 stand at $3.24 million.
Filed Under: Industrial automation
