New orders for metal cutting, forming and fabricating machinery (manufacturing technology) totaled $399.8 million in November 2023, down 2% from October and down 10.3% year-over-year. That’s according to the monthly U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by the Association for Manufacturing Technology.

Released Jan. 9, the report said that year-to-date orders reached $4.45 billion through the first 11 months of 2023, down 13.3% vs. the same period in 2022.

On the monthly front, AMT said the decline was driven by contract machine shops — the largest consumer of manufacturing technology — which decreased their November orders by 16% vs. October. The decline was nearly balanced by increases from other manufacturing sectors. Aerospace led the way with orders that peaked at 60% above the monthly average for 2023, while electrical equipment makers also increased orders. 

AMT noted that tight labor conditions persisting through the holiday travel and shopping seasons necessitated additional investment in automation to help manufacturers meet consistent demand.

Geographically, while overall year-to-date orders were down copmared to near-record levels in 2022 several regions and industries saw a late-year rally with strong order activity through November 2023. The U.S. northeast and south-central regions dipped by only about 2% year-over-year — virtually flat compared to steeper declines in other regions.

“The release of December 2023 USMTO data will determine if the November bright spots were outliers or the beginning of a rebound that could drive manufacturing technology investment into 2024,” AMT’s report noted.