New orders for metal cutting, forming and fabricating machinery (manufacturing technology) totaled $450.6 million in September 2024, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology’s monthly U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report (USMTO).

The total was up 24% compared to October orders, and up 14.6% year-over-year.

Year-to-date, orders through September totaled $3.35 billion, down 7.7% compared to the first three quarters of 2023.

“Orders in September 2024 were at the highest level of the year and 5.1% above an average September,” AMT’s September report said in a Nov. 11 release. While this may be a good sign for an industry looking to find bottom after nearly three years of decline, the optimism comes with a major caveat, as orders were 9.1% lower than in an average IMTS September.”

The gap between orders in 2023 and 2024 has narrowed over the last two months, putting the manufacturing technology industry in a position to end the year strong, according to the report.

“Through most of 2024, manufacturers hesitated to invest in manufacturing technology due to concerns over heightened interest rates and November’s U.S. presidential election,” according to the USMTO. “In September, the Federal Reserve cut rates after a year of its “higher for longer” monetary strategy to reduce inflation.”

Source AMT

The September USMTO report also shared the following:

• Contract machine shops— the largest customer segment for manufacturing technology orders—increased its orders to the highest level since March 2023.
• The aerospace sector pulled back orders to approximately a third from August 2023. The Boeing machinist strike impacted the industry’s output, causing major disruptions in the latter half of September 2024.
• The automotive sector lagged for most of 2024. However, this changed in September when orders increased to its highest level since August 2023.