May machine tool orders were 1,507 units and $212,664,000.

May’s unit orders improve slightly from April’s lowest monthly total since May 2010. Orders for the month contracted 26.6% compared with a year ago, which was the eighth time in 10 months that unit orders contracted more than 20%. Also, this was the 11^th month in a row of contraction. The annual rate of contraction accelerated for the fifth month in a row to -20.4%. This was the fastest rate of annual contraction since May 2010.

Dollar orders contracted 42.8% compared with one year ago. This was the 16^th straight month of dollar order contraction and the 17^th in the last 18 months. Also, this was the fastest rate of month-over-month contraction since September 2015 (which was compared with an IMTS month from the year before). May was the 11^th month in a row of accelerating contraction in the annual rate of change in dollar orders as the rate of contraction accelerated to -25.2% from -23.8%. This was the fastest rate of annual contraction since May 2010.

The Gardner Business Index continued to contract at an accelerating annual rate in June. However, the index has moved up toward 50 in recent months, indicating slower contraction in recent months. The annual rate of contraction in the GBI tends to bottom out 7-10 months prior to machine tool orders.