2023 Manufacturing Technology Orders Beat Expectations as December Adds $491 Million
Just like the larger U.S. economy fared better than many predicted at the beginning of 2023, orders of manufacturing technology, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, outperformed even the best expectations. In an upside surprise, December 2023 orders totaled $491 million, up nearly 22% from November 2023, and nearly 12% above December 2022. This was the second-highest order level in 2023 and the first month of the year to outperform 2022 order levels. Orders in 2023 totaled $4.94 billion, 11.2% behind the $5.56 billion recorded in 2022. Although a decline, orders in 2023 surpassed many predictions, with some of the most pessimistic forecasters expecting the year to be down nearly 20% from 2022.
Contract machine shops decreased their 2023 orders just over 21% compared to 2022. This customer segment, the largest customer for manufacturing technology, is mostly small-to-medium-sized businesses, so their capital investment tends to be tied to a shorter-term economic outlook. Even with their pullback in orders, 2023 exceeded expectations due to investment from larger OEMs, which tend to operate on much longer production schedules.