July 13--May U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $249.79 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Machine Tool Consumption (USMTC) program, was up 4.4 percent from April and up 22.7 percent from the total of $203.65 million reported for May 2004. With a year-to-date total of $1,203.89 million, 2005 was up 17.9 percent compared with 2004.
"The five regions are all showing activity related to increased business conditions, but vary in degree based on manufacturing sectors within each geographic region," said Ralph J. Nappi, AMTDA president. "It is likely the second half of the year will yield a more deliberate and cautious approach to capital investments due to increasing energy costs, labor negotiations, and the inability of Congress to address manufacturing issues."
The numbers and data in this report are based on the totals of actual data
reported by companies participating in the USMTC program.