AMT president Douglas K Woods attributed this decrease to concerns around disruption in China, a drop in some key economic indicators like purchasing managers index (PMI) and housing starts, as well as a softening in large customer industries such as agriculture and energy.

“Additionally, consumer confidence dropped in July, and the situation in Europe first with the Greek bailout and now the large influx of refugees is creating added uncertainty. Given all of that, it’s no surprise that manufacturers are wary about making large investments in capital equipment,” he explained.

As of July 2015, the year-to-date total for US manufacturing technology orders accounts for about US$2.48 billion. This translates to a 8.7 percent decrease compared to that of 2014.