AMT: Manufacturing tech orders surpass pre-pandemic levels

Manufacturing technology orders in the United States totaled $ 490 million in June, an increase of 9% from May and 42% from June 2020, according to the State Manufacturing Technology Orders report. United published Monday by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

For the first half of 2021, orders totaled $ 2.51 billion, an increase of 49% over the first half of 2020 and the largest half year since 2018.

“The manufacturing technology industry has rebounded phenomenally from the pandemic-induced recession,” said Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT. “The first half of 2021 is only 3% lower than 2018, when orders were at their highest level in two decades. Not only has the industry recovered from the 2020 crisis, but orders are now exceeding the pre-pandemic trend.

Similar to an increase in orders for metal valve makers in May, Woods said manufacturers of hardware, springs, screws, nuts and bolts significantly increased their orders in June.

“These low complexity, high volume parts can be shipped within weeks of a machine being delivered,” said Woods. “The production of these basic parts nationally appears to be an effort by manufacturers to diversify their supply chains in response to the global climate of material and shipping constraints.

“In addition to metal parts, demand for petroleum products up and down the supply chain has driven the price of crude oil to its highest point since October 2018. In order to meet this need, equipment manufacturers for the oil and gas fields also increased their orders. dramatically. “

Orders from medical device manufacturers rose nearly 60% in June compared to the first half of last year.

“As manufacturers were in a sprint to produce PPE and ventilators around the same time last year, we are seeing an increase in sales of multi-function machines as items produced revert to components required for delayed elective surgeries,” Woods said. “According to an article published in late 2020, there could be up to 36 months of backlog in knee and hip replacement surgeries, so the makers of these components will continue to be busy going forward.

“The current state of the medical industry is emblematic of what is happening across the economy. As pandemic restrictions are relaxed, a massive rebound in demand is straining producers and creating an economy-wide need for additional manufacturing technologies. “