U.S. manufacturers and machine shops ordered $647.63 million worth of new machining and cutting equipment, a rise of 77.3% over the $365.18 million recorded for August, and 61.4% over the total of $401.18 million reported for September 2013. The data is drawn from the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report, a monthly summary of actual data prepared by AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology.

USMTO figures are actual data reported by participating manufacturers and distributors, and cover demand for metal-cutting equipment and metal forming and fabricating equipment, both domestically sourced and imported products, with the combined figure representing the monthly total.

The latest monthly result brings the 2014 new-orders total to $3.74 billion, a 5.2% improvement over the 10-month total for 2013.

The dramatic improvement during September, following months of lackluster results, had been anticipated to some extent because of the timing of IMTS 2014, the biannual trade show for machine tools and related manufacturing technologies. The Chicago event drew 114,147 attendees over six days.

In September 2012, coinciding with the last staging of IMTS, machine tool orders totaled $667.47 million, rising 40.7% over the previous month.

“We now have data to back up the anecdotal reports that IMTS was an exceptionally strong show. This is a great sign that manufacturers are eager to invest in equipment that will boost their productivity,” stated Douglas K. Woods, AMT President. “But, Washington’s cooperation will be essential to continuing our momentum going forward. With the midterm elections just passed, Congress now must focus on passing tax extender legislation during the lame-duck session, and then taking on comprehensive tax reform once the new Congress convenes in 2015.”

The monthly USMTO report also presents orders for metal cutting equipment and metal forming and fabricating equipment in six geographic regions, all of which appear to have improved markedly during September. However, because AMT revised its geographic references in the past year, and the reporting accounts for changes in the survey participants, it notes that comparisons for Metal Forming and Fabricating equipment orders are not an accurate reflection of the current data. AMT further explained that data is adjusted to reflect this change, but some categories remain unreported.