March U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) totaled $507.91 million, according to AMT—The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 30.4 percent from February and up 3.2 percent when compared with the total of $491.96 million reported for March 2012. With a year-to-date total of nearly $1.3 billion, 2013 is down 5.0 percent compared with 2012.

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

“When making a year-over-year comparison with these figures, it’s important to take into account just how strong 2012 was for our industry,” says Douglas K. Woods, AMT’s president. Our members are doing much better than analysts projected in January. With vehicle sales and housing starts on the upswing, we can anticipate that gains in the consumer economy will also mean buoyancy for the industrial economy, and manufacturing will remain steady for the foreseeable future.”

 …