US May machine tool demand off 36.4 pct from yr ago

Reuters ^ | Sun July 13, 2003 05:58 PM ET | Staff

[arete]

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. machine tool demand fell in May from the year-ago month, and also fell slightly from April, two industry trade groups said in a joint report on Sunday that underlined the sluggishness of the economy.

The American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) said U.S. May machine tool demand stood at $140.78 million, down 36.4 percent from $221.25 million in May 2002.

May demand was also off 0.8 percent from a revised $141.90 million in April. April demand was revised downward from $169.57 million reported a month ago.

In the first five months of 2003, machine tool demand totaled $697.95 million, down 24.4 percent from $923.50 million in the same 2002 period, the groups said.

"America's investment in modern manufacturing equipment is at one of its lowest points in history," AMT President Albert Moore said in a statement.

The Commerce Department on July 2 revised U.S. May durable goods orders to a 0.4 percent drop from a previously reported 0.3 percent decline.

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.

[oceanview]

I wish it were that easy. What really irks me is that no one on the right even talks about this issue, it gets alot of thread action here on FR with the same set of posters, but do you ever hear Rush or Hannity or anyone on the "right" with some media prominence talking about this?

[SC Swamp Fox]

We are a non-union shop in a right-to-work state. The people that build our machines are highly skilled and well paid (compared to other local companies).

None of them are getting a COL wage increase this year, the employee's share of benefits is higher, we have laid off over half of them in the last two years.

Oh and did I mention that in order to sell into China, your product must be CCC certified. To obtain certification you have to:
- Provide the Chinese with all technical drawings and manuals for your product.
- Provide them with a sample of your product for testing.
- Pay for their inspection delegation to visit your facility so they may inspect your manufacturing processes and quality control measures.
- Recertify every 18 months.