Machine tool consumption jumps in 2005

December U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $311.03 million, according to The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total was up 30.8% from November and up 7.8% from the total of $288.54 million reported for December 2004. With a year-end total of $3,080.61 million, 2005 was up 8.4% compared with 2004.“December orders for machine tools increased an impressive 31 percent over November, bringing total year-over-year growth of 8.4% for the nation,” said John B. Byrd III, AMT President. “Regionally, the health of the Central region’s construction and agricultural equipment industries had a positive effect on machine tool orders while the struggling automotive industry has had the opposite effect in the Midwest. Improved health of all customer markets in 2006 will mean a positive outlook for our industry.”