January U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $401.69 million according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program, was down 26.5 percent from December but up 8.4 percent when compared with the total of $370.46 million reported for January 2011. These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program. "January's increase in manufacturing technology orders over 2011 is great in light of lower forecasts by experts," said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. "I think the continued growth highlights manufacturers' increasing confidence in future growth and that their bottom lines are being channeled into investments in advanced manufacturing technologies." The USMTO report, compiled by the trade association representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology orders provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.