September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled almost $400 million, a jump of more than 66% from August and almost 157% from the year before, according to the latest numbers from the American Machine Tool Distributors' Assn. (AMTDA) and the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). The numbers are based on data reported by companies participating in the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) program.
"September 2010 was a watershed in the recovery from the recession of 2008-9," says Peter Borden, AMTDA president. "The 1,992 units sold this month is the highest number since September of 2008 and demonstrates the resilience and staying power of the U.S. manufacturing base. More remarkably, this was done while many factories are running below the capacity levels that require capital goods purchases, despite the tight credit, and in spite of questions about government debt and potential tax increases."
The USMTC provides regional and national U.S. consumption data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. The region of the country showing the greatest gains in September was the South, whose manufacturing technology consumption more than doubled—from $30.4 million in August to almost $67 million in September. The September total was up almost 390% over September 2009.
The least impressive gains came from the Western region, which reported almost $32 million in manufacturing technology consumption—a 27.5% rise over August, and a ~30% gain over the previous year.
