September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $439.51 million, according to the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Consumption (USMTC) program, was up 32.0 percent from August, but down 1.4 percent from the total of $445.56 million reported for September 2007. With a year-to-date total of $3,462.69 million, 2008 is up 11.4 percent compared with 2007. These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTC program. “This solid September machine tool consumption report confirms the strong numbers from the International Manufacturing Technology Show in September,” says AMTDA President Peter Borden. “However, the financial uncertainty faced by the U.S. and G7 nations around the globe is signaling the approach of a tipping point towards the forecasted cyclical slowdown in the manufacturing sector. “That said, we do expect 2008 to remain in the positive year-over-year growth column from 2007 due to continuing strength in energy-related and medical manufacturing.” The USMTC report, jointly compiled by AMT and AMTDA, 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. More specifically:
- Northeast Region manufacturing technology consumption in September rose to $70.17 million, 47.5 percent higher than the $47.57 million total for August and up 48.1 percent when compared with September a year ago. The $501.68 million year-to-date total is 4.6 percent above the comparable figure for 2007.
- At $77.24 million, September manufacturing technology consumption in the Southern Region was 146.6 percent higher than the August total of $31.33 million and 50.2 percent more than in September 2007. With a year-to-date total of $538.07 million, 2008 is up 31.7 percent when compared with 2007 at the same time.
- Midwest Region manufacturing technology consumption stood at $139.86 million in September, up 6.8 percent when compared with August’s $130.97 million, but down 33.0 percent when compared with September a year ago. At $1,165.13 million, the 2008 year-to-date total is 18.4 percent higher than the comparable figure for 2007.
- September manufacturing technology consumption in the Central Region totaled $104.73 million, 28.5 percent more than August’s $81.52 million, and up 6.4 percent when compared with the total for September a year ago. The $842.02 million year-to-date total is up 3.2 percent when compared with 2007 at the same time.
- Manufacturing technology consumption in the Western Region in September totaled $47.52 million, 14.1 percent more than the $41.65 million tallied in August and up 19.7 percent when compared with last September. With a year-to-date total of $415.79 million, 2008 is 1.2 percent below the comparable figure for the previous year.