Manufacturing Continues Investment In Capacity, Productivity

Although the overall U.S. economy slowed dramatically between July and September, the latest machine tool consumption statistics show manufacturers continuing to create additional capacity and invest in productivity. U.S. machine tool consumption in September totaled $581 million, estimate the American Machine Tool Distributors' Assn., Rockville, Md., and AMT -- The Assn. for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va. September's figure was 19% higher than August's revised $487 million and 9% better than the $531 million total for September 1999.