U.S. machine tool demand falls to record low in January

Reuters reported that U.S. January machine tool demand fell 59.2 percent to a record low $94.95 million from $232.59 million in December, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

Machine tool demand in January fell 71.9 percent from $338 million in January 2008.

"There's no way or reason to try to sugar coat these numbers — they are the lowest since the program began in 1996," AMTDA President Peter Borden said in a statement. "No one knows at this point where the bottom is and if a recovery will occur this year. The optimism that we had hoped would follow the (Obama) Inauguration thus far has not materialized," he said.

January demand for machine tools was down from December in all regions included in the report. It fell strongest in the Northeast, by 68.6 percent, and in the South by 62.2 percent. Demand in the Central United States fell 60.3 percent, while it dipped 54.9 percent in the West and 49.7 percent in the Midwest, the data showed.