New orders of manufacturing technology in September 2022 were up just under 13% from August 2022 but down 12.4% from September 2021, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

New orders totaled $519.3 million in September 2022. The month marked the first time an IMTS September had a lower order value than the year prior. Total orders in 2022 reached $4.2 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the first three quarters of 2021, according to the report.

“We’re seeing the typical bump in orders brought on by IMTS and ‘the IMTS effect,’ but orders throughout 2022 are expected to fall short of 2021 order levels – the largest year in the program’s history,” said Pat McGibbon, Chief Knowledge Officer at AMT. “The backlogs built over the last 18 months have lengthened delivery times and weigh on the decision to continue investing in additional equipment.”

The manufacturing sector remains humming at near-full capacity, despite the anticipated slowing economy as 2022 closes and 2023 begins, according to the report.

“Quotations remain high, and anecdotally, we’re hearing that demand from our customer industries is not slowing,” said McGibbon. “While signs are positive now, we do expect orders to be softer the remainder of the year for most production equipment – with the exception of advanced and automation technologies. These technologies are in high demand to address the tighter labor market and increasing productivity of existing capacity. Also, continued efforts by North American manufacturers to increase their regional supply chain will continue to mitigate the modest decline in demand for durable goods. The softer order levels will provide the opportunity for manufacturing technology providers to convert their backlogs into shipped orders.”