Machine Tool Orders Surged in November, per AMT Report
MCLEAN, VA—Last week, the The Association for Manufacturing Technology announced that machine tool orders jumped 14 percent in November 2021, the latest month for which data is available. Orders totaled about $650 million for the month, compared to an adjusted $571 million in October 2021.
The November figure also more than doubled November 2020’s $307.6 million. The year-earlier figure occurred as the industry was recovering from the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“November orders illustrate continued recovery despite ongoing challenges brought on by the pandemic,” Douglas K. Woods, AMT’s president, said in a statement. “Tool and die, valve manufacturing, forging and stamping, and hardware–sectors in decline due to decades of outsourcing prior to the pandemic–continued to make a comeback due to reshoring.”
AMT said two industries, aerospace and off-road equipment, have shown an increase in demand. Aerospace had been hit hard in 2020 as airlines canceled orders for new aircraft amid lower demand for air travel. For the first 11 months of 2021, orders totaled $5.3 billion, a 58 percent increase from the same period the year before.
The figures are from companies participating in AMT’s U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders program. Woods says demand may remain strong for machine tools this year. “If manufacturers can continue to successfully adapt, I can see the momentum of the manufacturing technology industry continuing into 2022,” he says.
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