Orders of manufacturing technology were $519.3 million in September 2022, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report published by AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology. Orders in September 2022 were up nearly 13% from August 2022 but down 12.4% from September 2021.
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This is the first time an IMTS September had a lower order value than the year prior.
Total manufacturing technology orders are at $4.2 billion for 2022, an increase of 2.7% from the same prior-year period.
“We’re seeing the typical bump in orders brought on by IMTS and ‘the IMTS effect,’ but orders throughout 2022 are expected to fall short of 2021 order levels – the largest year in the program’s history. The backlogs built over the last 18 months have lengthened delivery times and weigh on the decision to continue investing in additional equipment,” AMT Chief Knowledge Officer Pat McGibbon said.
Demand for additional domestic capacity and augmenting current production lines with automation has driven orders. Appliance imports have fallen by nearly one-third due to supply challenges rather than a lack of demand.