McLEAN, VA--July U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $449.69 million according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 2.3% from June and down 10.5% when compared with the total of $502.33 million reported for July 2011. With a year-to-date total of $3,132.23 million, 2012 is up 5.4% compared with 2011.

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

“It is typical for orders to slow during July and August,” says Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. “That slowdown is even more pronounced in summers ahead of the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), as manufacturers attending the show wait to take their manufacturing technology ‘shopping lists’ with them to Chicago. With more than 90,000 registrants for IMTS this year, we fully expect order activity to come back strong in the months after the show.”

The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) 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.

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

Northeast Region: July manufacturing technology orders in the Northeast Region totaled $64.01 million, 1.2% more than June’s $63.23 million and up 9.2% when compared with the July 2011 figure. At $441.46 million, the 2012 year-to-date total was 1.3% more than the comparable figure for 2011.

Southern Region: Southern Region manufacturing technology orders in July stood at $63.87 million, 27.1% less than June’s $87.59 million and down 20.1% when compared with July a year ago. At $450.89 million year-to-date, the 2012 total is up 12.0% when compared with 2011 at the same time.

Midwest Region: Manufacturing technology orders in the Midwest Region in July totaled $138.64 million, up 2.7% from June’s $135.06 million but down 7.8% when compared with the July 2011 figure. The year-to-date total of $1,006.66 million is 1.1% more than the comparable figure for 2011.

Central Region:Central Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $113.43 million in July, down 16.1% from the $135.12 million total for June but up 6.8% when compared with the total for July 2011. At $906.26 million, 2012 year-to-date is up 15.8% when compared with 2011 at the same time.

Western Region”At $69.74 million, July manufacturing technology orders in the Western Region were up 77.4% when compared with the $39.31 million total for June but down 34.9% when compared with July a year ago. With a year-to-date total of $326.97 million, 2012 is down 7.9% when compared with 2011 at the same time.