CEMA reports booked orders for May down 16.7% from May 2012

The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association reported that its May 2013 booked orders decreased 16.7% when compared to May 2012 orders. Bob Reinfried, executive vice president for CEMA, said in a recent interview that the decline followed record-setting growth for the previous eight months.

“I knew we would see some softening, and historically we see things slow down a bit this time of year, but the feeling among members is that there’s no cause for concern,” he said, noting that last year was a record year. “We’ll see what happens in June, and if things continue to decline perhaps we’ll start being concerned.”

May 2013 booked orders when compared to April 2013 booked orders were down 25.4%. May booked orders were down 4.5% for bulk handling equipment and down 36.6% for unit handling equipment when compared to April.

CEMA’s May 2013 billed sales (shipments) decreased by 2.0% when compared to May 2012 sales. May 2013 billed sales when compared to April 2013 billed sales were down 3.2%.

May billed sales were up 1.6% for bulk handling equipment and down 5.7% for unit handling equipment when compared to April.