(AMT: McLean, VA) -- December 2011 U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $519.98 million according to The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program, was up 12.2 percent from November 2011 and up 12.7 percent when compared with the total of $461.48 million reported for December 2010. With a year-to-date total of $5.5 billion, 2011 was up 66.4 percent compared with 2010.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program.

“The USMTO finished its strongest year in more than a decade as manufacturing led the U.S. recovery into 2012,” says AMT’s president, Douglas K. Woods. “The 67-percent increase is nearly 20 points higher than forecasters predicted, which is great news in terms of reducing the foreign trade deficit. Manufactured goods represent more than 65 percent of trade, so the rise of U.S. manufactured products will help reduce our reliance on imports and support growth in exports.”

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