Manufacturing Technology Consumption Up 82.7% in 2010

Jan. 10, 2011
November U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $318.18 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and The Association For Manufacturing Technology

November U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $318.18 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Consumption program, was down 17.7% from October but up 81.1% over November 2009 and up 82.7% year-to-date over 2009.

“The November numbers reflect the continuing rebound of the U.S. manufacturing sector,” said Peter Borden, AMTDA President. “Confidence in 2011 is growing and purchases are being made despite the capacity rates being below the threshold when this normally occurs. Backlogs and deliveries are lengthening while prices are increasing as supply lines struggle to meet the surprising surge in demand. Forecasts suggest things will slow. Will this be the case? Stay tuned!”

The 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 manufacturing technology consumption provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.

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

Northeast Region
Manufacturing technology consumption in the Northeast Region in November stood at $62.68 million, down 35.6% from October’s $97.37 million but up 92.2% when compared with the previous November’s total. With a year-to-date total of $523.86 million, 2010 was up 77.7% when compared with 2009 at the same time.

Southern Region
Southern Region manufacturing technology consumption totaled $35.94 million in November, 9.8% less than October’s $39.83 million but 31.3% more than the November 2009 figure. At $384.77 million, 2010 year-to-date was 79.2% higher than the comparable figure a year earlier.

Midwest Region
Manufacturing technology consumption in the Midwest Region in November stood at $111.07 million, off 4.7% when compared with October’s $116.50 million but 130.1% higher than the tally for the previous November. The year-to-date total of $855.38 million was 95.9% above the comparable figure for 2009.

Central Region
November manufacturing technology consumption in the Central Region totaled $71.30 million, down 22.9% when compared with the $92.42 million total for October but up 48.5% when compared with November a year ago. The $722.78 million 2010 year-to-date total was 94.4% higher than the total for the same
period the previous year.

Western Region
At $37.19 million, November manufacturing technology consumption in the Western Region was 7.7% less than October’s $40.29 million but up 91.4% when compared with November 2009. The $305.79 million 2010 year-to-date total was 45.5% more than the 2009 total at the same time.