By John S. McClenahen With the U.S. economy continuing to recover and capital spending on the rise, gross new orders for metal-cutting machine tools in March for U.S. consumption increased 65.7%, according to data jointly released this week by the ...
ByJohn S. McClenahen With the U.S. economy continuing to recover and capital spending on the rise, gross new orders for metal-cutting machine tools in March for U.S. consumption increased 65.7%, according to data jointly released this week by the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA), Rockville, Md., and AMT--The Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va. Orders for machine tools that cut metal were $261.85 million in March, compared with $158.07 million in February. In contrast, new orders for metal forming machine tools declined 9.7%, falling to $10.49 million in March from $11.62 million in February. Total new orders for U.S. consumption in March, which combines new orders for metal cutting and metal forming machine tools, were $272.34 million, up 60.5% from $169.69 million in February. "Tax incentives and a need for the latest technology to reduce manufacturing costs are driving the current surge in capital investments in the U.S.," states Ralph J. Nappi, AMTDA's president.
