Machine Tool Makers Expect Katrina-Driven Orders

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, machine tool makers "will likely experience an increase in manufacturing capacity needs driven by the reconstruction effort" in America's South," says John B. Byrd III, president of AMT-The Association for Manufacturing Technology.

In August, the latest month for which data are available, new orders were relatively strong, except in the South. Gross new orders of machine tools for U.S. consumption were $286.86 million, up 25.8% from July, according to data jointly released by AMT and the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. For the first seven months of 2005, U.S. consumption of machine tools totaled $1.975 billion, up 16.2% from the first seven months of 2004.