ROCKVILLE, MD and MCLEAN, VA- November U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $430.17 million according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA) and The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program, was down 6.9% from October but up 26.6% when compared with the total of $339.68 million reported for November 2010. With a year-to-date total of $4,956.51 million, 2011 is up 73.9% compared with 2010.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

“Manufacturing technology orders slowed slightly in November, but maintained their sprint toward the 2011 finish line thanks to the bonus depreciation tax incentive,” says Peter Borden, AMTDA president. “The order slowdown in metal cutting equipment was countered by acceleration in the fabricating sector and contributed to an increase over 2010 of nearly 75%. Backlogs for 2012 are very healthy at this point and growing longer.”

The USMTO report, jointly compiled by the two trade associations representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology orders provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

U.S. manufacturing technology orders are also reported on a regional basis for five geographic breakdowns of the United States:

Northeast. At $64.88 million, November manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region were down 1.8% when compared with the $66.09 million total for October and down 1.4% when compared with November a year ago. The year-to-date total of $743.95 million is 38.9% more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Southern. November manufacturing technology orders in the Southern Region totaled $51.77 million, 4.0% less than October’s $53.91 million but 17.3% more than the November 2010 total. With a year-to-date total of $619.34 million, 2011 is up 55.5% when compared with 2010 at the same time.

Midwest. Midwest Region manufacturing technology orders in November stood at $141.29 million, 5.0% less than the October total of $148.77 million but up 22.1% when compared with last November. At $1,663.63 million, the 2011 year-to-date total is 94.0% more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Central. Manufacturing technology orders in the Central Region in November totaled $125.10 million, down 9.6% from October’s $138.31 million but up 56.4% when compared with the November 2010 figure. The $1,354.89 million year-to-date total is 81.9% higher than the total for the same period in 2010.

Western. Western Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $47.14 million in November, 14.6% less than the $55.17 million total for October but 34.3% higher than the tally for November 2010. At $574.70 million, 2011 year-to-date is up 83.5% when compared with last year at the same time.