Washington, D.C. – According to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report released by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, new orders for manufacturing technology in July 2023 amounted to $353.9 million. While this figure reflects a 12.4% decline from June 2023, it was only 10.5% lower than July 2022. Year-to-date orders reached $2.83 billion, marking a 12.7% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Douglas K. Woods, President of AMT, noted, “July is typically one of the slower months for manufacturing technology orders, so to be down slightly is not surprising.” He highlighted an interesting trend wherein the gap in year-to-date orders has narrowed over the historically slow summer months. Job shops have seen declining orders, but other industries that have benefited from reshoring or government investment have been filling the gap.
Breaking down the numbers by sectors, job shops, the largest customer segment, placed their lowest total monthly orders since August 2020. In contrast, manufacturers of metal valves recorded their third-highest monthly order value on record, surpassing levels last seen in September 2018. Their orders contributed nearly 5% to the total manufacturing technology order value for July 2023.
Manufacturers of motor vehicle transmissions, highlighted in the previous month’s USMTO press release, continued to place orders at an accelerated pace. While the aerospace industry remains a significant player in the market, it continues to order below the peaks reached in early 2022. Several recently announced projects, including the federal government’s $1.5 billion investment in communications satellites, hold the potential to reverse this trend.
Woods observed that manufacturing technology orders have begun to feel the impact of higher interest rates and economic uncertainty. However, the buildup of domestic capacity has diversified sales opportunities, unlike anything seen in decades. This diversity has kept manufacturing technology orders above historical levels despite recent downward trends, and it may pave the way for the industry to navigate any mild recession on the horizon with resilience.