Machine Tool Consumption Up 11.3% Through October

October U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $277.53 million, down 5.2% from September but up 25.4% from the total reported in October 2004, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. With a year-to-date total of $2,549.50 million, 2005 was up 11.3% compared with 2004.

 

The significant increase in October durable goods orders reported by the U.S. Commerce Dept. supports the continued strong demand in manufacturing technology," said John B. Byrd III, AMT president. "This also reflects the need for U.S. manufacturing to modernize their facilities to better compete in the global marketplace."

 

The United States Machine Tool Consumption (USMTC) report, jointly compiled by the two trade associations representing the production and distribution of manufacturing technology, provides regional and national U.S. consumption data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of machine tool consumption provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

 

U.S. machine tool consumption is also reported on a regional basis for five geographic breakdowns of the United States.

 

Northeast Region

October machine tool consumption in the Northeast Region stood at $38.22 million, 1.7% higher than September's $37.59 million and 3.0% higher than the October 2004 total. The year-to-date total of $344.06 million was down 0.1% compared with 2004 at the same time.

 

Southern Region

Southern Region machine tool consumption in October totaled $39.49 million, down 19% from September's $48.74 million, but up 45.7% when compared with October a year ago. At $413.25 million, the year-to-date total was 22.9% higher than the comparable figure in 2004.

 

Midwestern Region

Machine tool consumption in the Midwestern Region in October totaled $85.02 million, 24.3% less than September's $112.35 million and down 9.1% when compared with last October. The $917.87 million year-to-date total was 2.2% higher than the 2004 total at the same time.

 

Central Region

At $74.25 million, October machine tool consumption in the Central Region was 31.2% higher than September's $56.59 million, and 103.4% higher than the October 2004 amount. The year-to-date total of $535.24 million was 26.1% more than the tally at the same time last year.

Western Region

October Western Region machine tool consumption rose to $40.54 million, up 8.5% from the $37.37 million total for September and up 49.6% when compared with October 2004. With a year-to-date total of $339.09 million, 2005 was 17.7% ahead of the comparable figure for 2004.