The latest U.S. manufacturing technology orders report from AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology shows that orders for April 2016 were down 27.5% compared to the same month last year. Manufacturing technology providers are continuing to feel the strain of a sluggish economy, and some of the larger industries such as automotive and aerospace are making fewer investments in new capital equipment.

While industry forecasters continue to predict an uptick later this year, the severity of the downturn was more than anticipated in previous forecasts. AMT member companies are seeing an influx of quotation activity, but a longer period of time to order placement, as manufacturers hold off on capital spending out of a sense of caution.