Just as many industry sectors have been experiencing this year, the machine tools industry has seen a slow period in consumption and distribution of manufacturing technology.

Manufacturing technology consumption data is relevant because it provides a reliable economic indicator of how manufacturing companies are investing in equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity. In other words, the machine tool industry is the foundation for the entire manufacturing industry.

And as the heart of fabricated parts manufacturing, machine tools are the bedrock on which machined-parts quality stands.

Not surprisingly, given the current economy, it has also been one of the hardest hit sectors within manufacturing. Orders for manufacturing technology were down 66 percent for the first 10 months of 2009, according to a statement by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). 

Quality Digest Daily asked Pat McGibbon, AMT’s vice president of strategic information and research, about this reality and what manufacturers across the country should expect in 2010.

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