Manufacturing technology orders in the U.S. totaled $317.9 million in April 2024, a decrease of 25.6% from March 2024, according to a report published by the Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This is only 5.4% behind orders in April 2023.
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Machinery orders hit a peak in the fourth quarter of 2021 and have steadily declined since. This year had the weakest start since 2020; however, orders through April are nearly 5% above the average order volume through the first four months of the year since the USMTO has tracked these numbers.
Year-to-date orders reached $1.43 billion, a 16.2% decline from orders in the first four months of 2023.
The decline in orders appears to be stabilizing. Order activity is expected to increase through the remainder of the year. Oxford Economics revised their forecast at AMT’s Spring Economic Webinar to predict 2024 will end flat or slightly down compared to 2023.
Orders from contract machine shops decreased significantly in April compared to March 2024. Contract machine shops experienced the slowest start to the year since COVID shutdowns in the first few months of 2020.
The automotive industry has begun paring back investment in manufacturing technology. Despite investment from major automakers, consumer demand for electric vehicles has not met expectations. As inflation and higher interest rates persist, demand for internal combustion engines has lagged expectations.
Aerospace order activity is particularly strong in the Southeast region. Aerospace companies have been opening and expanding manufacturing operations in the Southeast, particularly in North Carolina.
Through April, new durable goods orders were nearly flat compared to the beginning of 2023.
