New orders for metal cutting, forming and fabricating machinery (manufacturing technology) totaled $385 million in October 2024, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology’s monthly U.S. manufacturing Technology Orders Report (USMTO).

The total was down 14.5% from September orders, and down 5.5% year-over-year.

Year-to-date, orders through October totaled $3.7 billion, down 7.5% compared to the first 10 months of 2023.

“Although orders of manufacturing technology are still on a longer-term downward trend, October 2024 orders were 3% above the average value of all Octobers,” AMT’s October report said in a Dec. 9 release. “This downward trend represents a normalization of order activity after a frenzied buying cycle caused by manufacturers grappling with increasing demand and the supply bottlenecks of the COVID pandemic.”

Manufacturing technology orders fell below the average order value of the previous expansionary period after the Federal Reserve began reducing interest rates from a peak of 5.5%, according to the report.

“Last week’s strong jobs report showed growth in the manufacturing sector, driven largely by producers of durable goods,” according to the USMTO. “A good early indicator of the path ahead will come with the Federal Reserve meeting on Dec. 18 and the next publication of their economic projections.”

The October USMTO report also shared the following:

• Contract machine shops — the largest customer segment for manufacturing technology orders — pulled back orders by 30% in October, driven by the U.S. presidential election and the Boeing machinists’ strike.
• The aerospace sector increased orders of manufacturing technology to the highest level in October 2024. Average order value increased to the highest level since January 2022.