MCLEAN, VA — January U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $341.17 million according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 32.9 percent from December’s $508.57 million and down 4.8 percent when compared with the total of $358.45 million reported for January 2014.

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

“To understand why we saw this drop in orders for January, December 2014 saw a sharp increase in sales. This was driven by many end-of-year orders that had been rushed through in order to qualify for tax rebate provisions that were enacted at the last minute for 2014,” said Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. “This is evidenced by the comparatively lower average order value seen in December vs. January, meaning that most end-of-year orders were for less expensive, in-stock machines that could be shipped quickly. The decline wasn’t unexpected, and we still foresee the manufacturing economy keeping on a stable path.”

The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders report, compiled by the trade association 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.