Machine Tool Orders Reflect Capex Rise

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.