Manufacturing technology consumption up 85 percent in 2010

December U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $446.76 million, according to AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) program, was up 40.9 percent from November and up 104.8 percent when compared with the total of $218.16 million reported for December 2009. With a year-to-date total of $3,236.00 million, 2010 is up 85.3 percent compared with 2009.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.

"For the first time in USMTC history, we experienced four months of consecutive growth following IMTS, ending the year on a solid upswing," said Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT. "2010 orders closed strong, up 85 percent over 2009, and December's orders were 40.9 percent higher than the previous month. With backlogs firming and quotation levels accelerating, we are very optimistic that the industry will see strong results in 2011."

The United States Manufacturing Technology 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 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—At $66.17 million, December manufacturing technology consumption in the Northeast Region was 5.9 percent more than November's $62.50 million and up 52.6 percent when compared with December 2009. The $589.79 million 2010 total was 74.4 percent more than the 2009 total.

Southern Region—Manufacturing technology consumption in the Southern Region in December stood at $45.62 million, up 26.9 percent from November's $35.94 million and up 55.0 percent when compared with the December 2009 total. With a year-end total of $430.27 million, 2010 was up 76.3 percent when compared with 2009.

Midwest Region—Midwest Region manufacturing technology consumption totaled $165.96 million in December, 48.9 percent more than November's $111.42 million and 169.3 percent more than the December 2009 figure. At $1,020.76 million, the 2010 total was 104.8 percent higher than the comparable figure for the previous year.

Central Region—Manufacturing technology consumption in the Central Region in December stood at $113.36 million, up 59.4 percent when compared with November's $71.10 million and 108.0 percent higher than the tally for the previous December. The 2010 year-end total of $834.86 million was 95.9 percent above the comparable figure for 2009.

Western Region—December manufacturing technology consumption in the Western Region totaled $55.65 million, up 54.3 percent when compared with the $36.07 million total for November and up 90.5 percent when compared with December a year earlier. At $360.33 million, the 2010 year-end total was 50.5 percent higher than the 2009 total.