U.S. exports of manufacturing equipment fell for the third year in a row in 2015, according to a series of reports issued by the Commerce Department.
The International Trade Administration found that exports of manufacturing technology products declined from $8.5 billion in 2014 to $8.1 billion last year.
The agency cited statistics showing a decline in both the production and consumption of machine tools in recent years, in large part due to economic sluggishness in China. Between 2011 and 2014, China's machine tool consumption fell from $40.8 billion to $31.8 billion, and analysts suggested that a prolonged slump in the world's second largest economy would continue to impact domestic equipment production.
In addition, the strength of the dollar last year — particularly compared to the currencies of leading equipment trading partners — and low energy and commodity prices also hindered the machine tool industry.
Although the headwinds facing the industry were likely to continue in coming years, analysts urged manufacturers to develop exports strategies since "recessions end and currency values change" and "the long-term prospect for manufactured goods remains unchanged."
The ITA report anticipated that Mexico would be the top market for U.S. industrial machinery in 2016 and 2017, due to its shared border and lack of tariffs, followed by Canada and China, the world's largest machine market.
Germany and Japan rounded out the top five, but the report also said that developing economies would play a larger role as they "bypass old technologies and leap-frog straight into the trends of today."
"U.S. companies are well-positioned to play a leading role in driving technical change in the global value chain," the agency said.
Export prospects were brighter, meanwhile, for other industrial categories. U.S. auto parts exports nearly doubled between 2009 and 2014, while aircraft parts exports hit a record in 2014.
The reports were among 19 diverse sectors profiled by the Commerce Department from cloud computing to financial technologies to renewable energy.
“By combining data with our specialized industry knowledge in more than 75 international markets, we have created an important resource to help businesses increase exports, grow our economy and create American jobs,” Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in a statement.
