At $51.6 million for the second quarter of 2004, shipments of workholding equipment for the United States were up 18.8% from the previous year, according to the Workholding Product Group (WPG) of AMT — The Association for Manufacturing Technology. Workholding equipment shipments within the United States by the 42 companies participating in the WPG statistical report totaled $45.0 million while exports amounted to $6.6 million.
The WPG report shows that second-quarter 2004 US domestic shipments of workholding equipment climbed 20.5% from year-earlier levels and US exports rose 8.2%. The report also shows rotating type as the largest source of workholding equipment activity in first-quarter 2004, accounting for 50.9% of total shipments. Regionally, the Midwest was the largest destination source in second-quarter 2004, comprising 48.3% of total domestic shipments. Additionally, second-quarter 2004 employment levels were down 1.6% from year-earlier levels.