February U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $308.50 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 down 4.0% from January, but up 4.4% from the total of $295.39 million reported for February 2007. With a year-to-date total of $624.28 million, 2008 is up 1.2% 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.
"Industry forecasters called for a first-half downturn in manufacturing technology orders," said John B. Byrd III, AMT President. "The economic stimulus package has kept orders from falling in the first quarter, but the full impact of the package won't be realized until the fourth quarter when the deadline for stimulus benefits and the industry's largest trade event, IMTS 2008 (September 8 - 13, McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill.), will likely pull equipment investment dollars from the first half of both 2008 and 2009."
The 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.