Machine tool orders advanced in March on a monthly basis and almost matched year-earlier levels, AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology said today.
Orders totaled $543.2 million for the month, 16.5% more than an adjusted $466.3 million in February. Pcb Manufacturing Equipment
The March figure also was only 1.8% less than the $552.9 million in March 2022. Machine tool orders started out strong in 2022 before tailing off later in the year.
For 2023’s first quarter, orders totaled $1.36 billion, down 7.5% from the same period last year. The figures are from companies participating in AMT’s U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program.
AMT said March 2023 was one of the strongest months of March since 2008. March was also the first month where orders exceeded $500 million since the 2022 edition of IMTS in September. That show, which is organized by AMT, generates machine tool sales. IMTS is held in Chicago during even-numbered years.
“While most industries we track increased orders in March 2023, several were particularly boosted, as they were the beneficiaries of last year’s infrastructure and chips bills that have begun to be implemented,” Douglas K. Woods, AMT’s president, said in a statement.
In 2022, Congress enacted two major pieces of legislation. The U.S. Chips and Science Act provided funding to increase domestic research and manufacture of semiconductors. Infrastructure legislation provided money for various construction projects.
AMT said construction machinery makers ordered the most machine tools since April 2008. Other increases in orders came from machine shops as well as the aerospace and auto industries.
Woods said challenges remain for the rest of this year.
“There are several headwinds that could result in a summer cooling for the manufacturing technology industry,” the AMT chief said. “Although many economists have been predicting a recession for months, the general thinking now points to a slowdown toward the end of the summer or early fall.”
Pcb Rack The Federal Reserve has increased interest rates 10 times in little more than a year. The Fed wants to cool the economy to reduce inflation.