Following a two-month slowdown, manufacturers across all regions increased their orders of machine tools and related equipment in June. The 2010 year-to-date total of manufacturing tech consumption is up 56.1 percent over the same period last year.

The total value of United States manufacturers’ machine tool and related equipment consumption rose to $241.47 million in June, up 35.8 percent from $178.34 million in May, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) report, released yesterday. The June 2010 total is 71.1 percent higher than the $141.12 million reported for the same month last year.

With a year-to-date total of $1.2 billion, U.S. consumption of manufacturing technology in 2010 is up 56.1 percent from the same period in 2009.

Based on data from American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA) and Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) member companies, the USMTC report provides regional and national consumption figures for manufacturing machine tools and related equipment.

The June increase ends a two-month slowdown in orders for machine tools and related equipment, which declined in April and May. Earlier in 2010, sales in February and especially March marked a return to growth after a period of declining orders.

On a month-to-month basis, consumption rose across all five regions of the U.S. in June.

On a regional level, the largest increases were in the Midwest states, with June machine tech consumption rising 69.3 percent from May, to $72.8 million. Consumption was 82.8 percent higher than June 2009′s total. The year-to-date total of $335.11 million was 51.4 percent more than the comparable figure for 2009.

The second-largest monthly increase took place in the Northeast region, where manufacturing technology consumption increased 52.3 percent from May to total $51.45 million in June, up 90.8 percent over the same month last year. At $210.61 million, the 2010 year-to-date total was 33.2 percent higher than the comparable figure a year ago.

In the Western states, manufacturing tech consumption rose 37.5 percent from May to $25.58 million in June. Consumption in the region was up 27.6 percent over June 2009. So far this year, the Western region has seen consumption valued at $143.61 million, 32.8 percent higher than the total for the same period last year.

Manufacturing technology consumption in the Southern region stood at $34.5 million in June, 18.5 percent higher than the total for May and 36.5 percent higher than the June 2009 total. With a year-to-date value of $188.98 million, 2010 was up 75 percent when compared with the same period in 2009.

At $57.15 million, manufacturing technology consumption in the Central region was up 7.1 percent over May and up 96.9 percent when compared with June 2009. The $329.3 million 2010 year-to-date total was 85.3 percent higher than the total for the same six-month period last year.

Order rates for manufacturing tech typically slow down in the months leading up to the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), “the largest production technology show in the Americas,” AMT President Douglas K. Woods said in a statement. (AMT sponsors IMTS.)

“However, increased foreign direct investment and a doubling of orders in aerospace and construction equipment through the first half 2010 resulted in an acceleration of USMTC orders rather than the typical slowdown,” according to Woods.

Based on recent data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, new orders for machinery dropped from a seasonally adjusted $27.2 billion in May to $26.7 billion in June, a 1.9 percent decrease. Machinery shipments, however, saw a 1.1 percent uptick over May to $25.1 billion.

Earlier

Machine Tech Consumption Declines Again in May

Machine Tech Consumption Declines in April

Manufacturing Tech Consumption Up in First Quarter

Manufacturing Tech Consumption Climbs in February

Resources

June Manufacturing Technology Consumption Up 35.8%
Association for Manufacturing Technology / American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, Aug. 9, 2010

Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders June 2010
U.S. Department of Commerce, Aug. 3, 2010