The manufacturing industry continued to invest in technology equipment in November, but at a much slower pace than in October.
According to the latest report from the The American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and The Association for Manufacturing Technology, November U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $335.02 million, down 12.5 percent from October, but up 32.7 percent from the year-ago period.
With a year-to-date total of $3.55 billion, 2006 is up 29.4 percent compared with 2005, based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.
"Though below the exceptional September peak, the November results continue to show strong purchases of advanced manufacturing technology equipment," says John J. Healy, AMTDA President. "This is a positive sign for the health of U.S. manufacturing industries in the years to come."
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 can provide 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
With a November total of $57.88 million, manufacturing technology consumption in the Northeast Region was up 13.9 percent from October’s $50.80 million and 53.0 percent higher than in November 2005.
Southern Region
November manufacturing technology consumption in the Southern Region stood at $32.94 million, down 14.3 percent from October’s $38.44 million and down 22.7 percent when compared with last November.
Midwestern Region
Midwestern Region manufacturing technology consumption in November totaled $101.66 million, 31.1 percent less than October’s $147.62 million, but 50.9 percent higher than the November 2005 tally.
Central Region
At $99.53 million, November Central Region manufacturing technology consumption was 10.1 percent higher than October’s $90.41 million and 47.3 percent higher than the November 2005 total.
Western Region
November manufacturing technology consumption in the Western Region stood at $43.01 million, 21.7 percent less than October’s $54.92 million, but 16.3 percent higher than the November 2005 figure.
