Orders for manufacturing technology dropped in June, according to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). In June, the industry pulled in $426.83 million, down 5.8 percent from the month prior. The total, which was tracked by the Association for Manufacturing and Technology’s (AMT) United States Manufacturing Technology Orders program, also amounted to a 5.7 percent drop from June 2012 when the industry reported orders totaling $452.75 million.
While manufacturing orders throughout the country largely dropped, certain regions were hit harder than others. The West, for example, brought in $56.91 million in orders during the month of June, marking a 27.2 percent decline from May. The Northeast experienced similar sales numbers, with manufacturing technology orders falling by 21.8 percent from $84.8 million to $66.29 million during the same period.
On the other hand, some regions found success. The Southeast saw orders tick up by 12.2 percent, going from $44.36 million to $49.75 million in a month. Similarly, the North Central-East experienced gains of 9.3 percent, jumping from $103.32 million in May to $112.9 million in June.
Seasonal decline
In total, however, orders are down this year from 2012. That year, by the end of June the industry had made $2,538 million – this year’s orders fell a total of 5.7 percent.
Officials from the AMT said that some drop is typical during the warmer months of the year. Douglas Woods, president of AMT, said the slow growth is unsurprising.
“It’s typical for orders to experience a modest drop going into the summer months, and we’ve seen this lull in six of the past nine summers,” Woods said.
Although he did not cite a specific reason as to why manufacturing orders drop during the summer, he stressed the overall importance of the industry to achieving economic recovery, calling manufacturing “the key area driving the economy.”
He went on to say that he expects further orders to be steady for the rest of 2013.
Manufacturing orders and the economy
The AMT said measuring the growth and decline of manufacturing orders is often an indicator of the state of the economy. The report made the link between manufacturing technology orders and business success, as investing in new technology helps companies grow and become more efficient.
As the economy continues to make slow gains, many small business owners find themselves stuck between recovery and progress. Although entrepreneurs may be experiencing an increase in sales or have found some stability in the years since the recession, securing working capital to expand business can be difficult.
One way to expand while still staying within budget is to opt for equipment financing and leasing instead of upfront purchases. If a small business owner wants to expand business without going over company budgets, they can come to National Funding for information on leasing and financing. National Funding can assist small business owners in finding new or used equipment to improve business and can offer help on getting a small business loan as well.
