The manufacturing-machinery industry has survived almost two years of dramatic changes — in everything from materials and processes to volumes and frequencies. Here we look at the year-to-date total value of United States manufacturers’ machine tool and related equipment consumption, as well as current activity for specific technologies based on the latest available data.

In a statement leading up to this year’s International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA) President Peter Borden said that the 28th edition of the premier manufacturing technology show would be “a key indicator of the ongoing strength of the manufacturing recovery that we have seen gaining momentum since January.”

The show met — and in many ways even exceeded — exhibitors’ and visitors’ expectations. In total, 1,728 companies from 30 countries filled 1,180 booths with the latest advances in manufacturing machinery and technology. Along with healthy traffic on the IMTS floor, “sold” signs on machines could be seen throughout the trade show. A total of 82,411 attendees from more than 100 countries came to see and buy the equipment, tools and services they’ll need to maintain the competitive edge in their area of manufacturing.

“The show was lively and exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the quantity and quality of attendees. The four buildings remained busy throughout the days of the show,” Peter Eelman, IMTS vice president of exhibitions and communications, said in a statement. “Manufacturing professionals were searching for confirmation that manufacturing in the United States is not dying or dead and, in fact, found that it is robust, poised for growth, and clearly understand that investing in the latest technology is the key to being competitive.”

As of August 2010, the year-to-date total value of U.S. manufacturers’ machine tool and related equipment consumption was $1.70 billion, up 62.4 percent over the same period last year, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption report, released by the AMTDA and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

According to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI’s latest U.S. Industrial Outlook, released last month, industrial machinery production was shown to have improved by 58 percent in the May-July 2010 period. MAPI forecasts that industrial machinery will grow 36 percent in 2010.

The seasonally adjusted value of new machine orders rose 5.2 percent between June and July, to $26.9 billion. New orders for industrial machinery increased 8.8 percent during the same period to a total of $3 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce last week. Valued at $206.9 billion, year-to-date orders for general machinery are up 20.9 percent from last year, while year-to-date orders for industrial machinery are up 57.3 percent.

According to the same Commerce Department report, the year-to-date total value of machinery shipments ($194.7 billion) was up 5.2 percent from the same period in 2009, while the year-to-date total for industrial machinery was up 18.8 percent (value: $21.3 billion).

A resurgence in repair, replacement and cost cutting drove machinery and equipment spending for big-ticket consumer items, according to the Federal Reserve’s August report on industrial production, and machinery registered positive monthly and annual gains in the Commerce Department’s August report on durable goods.

“Overall, our situation is much better than 2009,” one respondent in machinery manufacturing told the Institute for Supply Management for its September Report on Business.

Year-to-date exports of U.S. machine tools total $1.14 billion, a 15.5 percent uptick over the same period last year, according to AMT’s latest U.S. foreign trade summary of manufacturing technology (an abridged report on the U.S. machine tool market). Imports year-to-date totaled $1.31 billion, a 14.3 percent decrease from same period in 2009.

Based on the latest data available, current activity for specific manufacturing machinery and technology are as follows:

• At $760.9 million, year-to-date exports of metal-cutting machine tools are up 18.7 percent over the same period in 2009, while January-July 2010 imports (value: $1.0 billion) are up 14.3 percent.
• At $382.4 million, year-to-date exports of metal-forming machine tools are up 9.5 percent over last year, and imports (value: $310.6 million) are up 14.4 percent for the same period.
• At $4.9 billion, year-to-date exports of numerically controlled machine tools are up 22.4 percent from the same period in 2009, and year-to-date imports (value: $819.7 million) are down 18.6 percent.
• At $53.8 million for Q2 2010, shipments of workholding equipment — including chucks, jaws, collets, vises, fixtures and more — were up 46.3 percent from the same quarter in 2009. Workholding equipment shipments within the U.S. rose 7.4 percent to total $45.7 million, while exports increased 9.4 percent to $8.1 million.
• After contracting 34.3 percent last year, new orders for material-handling equipment are forecast to grow between 12 percent and 14 percent in 2010, if the current momentum holds. The outlook for 2011 is for growth in the 11 percent to 12 percent range. Material-handling equipment shipments, which contracted 33.4 percent in 2009, are forecast to grow by up to 4 percent in 2010 and possibly another 11 percent in 2011. Exports are expected to be stronger than imports in 2010 and 2011.
• For the first six months of 2010, industry bookings for conveyor equipment increased 19.6 percent over the same period in 2009, with total orders of $3.46 billion. Industry billed sales (shipments) are estimated to have been $3.09 billion in the same period. In bulk conveying, orders were up 15.6 percent and shipments were up 0.6 percent, while unit handling orders were up 23.1 percent and shipments were down 5.9 percent.
• Spending on packaging machinery in the U.S. is showing growth in the third quarter of 2010. Comparing the third quarter of 2010 with the same quarter in 2009, the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s index for the market as a whole was 62.7, which is 12.7 points above the midpoint of 50. Investments in the food (66.5), beverage (65.9) and pharmaceutical/medical devices (65.9) segments are expected to outpace the market as a whole. Looking to the fourth quarter of 2010 and into 2011, only 12.9 percent of respondents expect to cancel, delay or decrease projects, while the rest expect to increase or maintain their purchasing rates.

“We expect orders to be strong through the remainder of the year due in part to Congress extending the bonus depreciation allowance, which will remain in effect through December,” AMT President Douglas K. Woods said this week.

According to a recent Research & Markets report, the U.S. industrial machinery manufacturing industry includes more than 20,000 companies with a combined annual revenue of about $350 billion.

Earlier: 2009 Machinery Demand Hinges on Industrial Production Growth

Resources

Manufacturing Technology Consumption Up 58.9% in 2010
The American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology, Sept. 13, 2010

IMTS 2010 Sets the Stage for a Strong Comeback in Manufacturing
The International Manufacturing Technology Show, Sept. 23, 2010

Manufacturing Technology Consumption Up 62.4% in 2010
The American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology, Oct. 11, 2010

U.S. Industrial Outlook
by Daniel Meckstroth
Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, Sept. 13, 2010

Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders – August 2010
U.S. Department of Commerce, Oct. 4, 2010

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
U.S. Federal Reserve, Sept. 15, 2010

Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders – August 2010
U.S. Department of Commerce, Sept. 24, 2010

September 2010 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business
Institute for Supply Management, Oct. 1, 2010

U.S. Foreign Trade in Manufacturing Technology Statistical Summary – July 2010
The Association for Manufacturing Technology, Sept. 9, 2010

Q2 2010 Workholding Shipments up 7.7 Percent from Q1 2010
The Association for Manufacturing Technology, July 23, 2010

MHIA Forecasts 12.0-14.0% Growth in Material Handling Equipment New Orders in 2010
Material Handling Industry of America, Sept. 20, 2010

Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association Semi-Annual Press Release
The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association, Sept. 22, 2010

Third Quarter Demand for Packaging Machinery Shows Growth
Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, Sept. 23, 2010

Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
Research & Markets, September 2010