June manufacturing technology orders climbed 6.5 percent over May according to The Association for Manufacturing Technology. The latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report also shows a year-over-year increase of more than 10 percent, the fifth consecutive month posting a year-over-year gain.

The U.S. manufacturing technology market has been weak since oil prices began to drop dramatically in June 2014. Orders peaked on a monthly basis that September at $643 million and bottomed out at $260 million in June 2016. The International Manufacturing Technology Show, held in September 2016, rekindled the market, but it was not until March 2017 that year-over-year numbers began to consistently show a positive, accelerating trend upwards. Now, three months later, June figures are up 10 percent over June 2016 and represent the volume and growth that supports an announcement that the manufacturing technology market is officially expanding.

“If the USMTO numbers aren’t convincing enough that a recovery is underway, certainly the buzz among our members underscores that a recovery is indeed underway,” said AMT president Doug Woods. “Members have shared that the aerospace supply chain in the Midwest is hot; auto orders doubled between May and June; and sales in the Southeast exploded. Over the next six months, they look forward to a broadening of the recovery into areas like agricultural, construction, power generation and off-road machinery industries.”