U.S. machine tool demand rose 16.6 percent in August from the prior month, two industry trade groups said in a joint report on Sunday that showed the manufacturing sector is beginning to pick up momentum.
The American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology said U.S. August machine tool demand edged higher to $150.99 million from a revised $129.55 million in July that was reported at $157.06 million a month earlier.
August demand, however, was down 3.2 percent from $155.93 million a year earlier in August 2002.
In addition, overall tool demand in 2003 through the first eight months of the year had declined 16.1 percent to $1.226 billion from $1.461 billion in the same period a year ago, the joint report said.
Even though consumption has lagged most of the year, the trade groups said there are signs machine tool demand has begun to improve.
“August orders and increased output among many of our customers appear to be signaling an end to the decline in manufacturing technology investments,” John Byrd, president of the AMT, said in a statement.
“While a capital spending recovery has not yet begun, better times certainly seem to be on the horizon,” said Byrd.
Machine tools are used to shape metal for such products as car engines, refrigerators and television sets. Demand for these tools can provide a leading indicator of the pace of manufacturing.
The machine tools report is generally based on a survey of about 200 manufacturers, distributors and importers of machine tools that represent 76 percent of the machine tool market.
