Incredibly, U.S. machine manufacturers and distributor orders totaled more than $491 million in machine tools and related technology sales for the month of December in 2013. This allowed for a strong annual finish even though the yearly sales were less than the previous year. Although the estimated $491 million in sales might seem too good to be true, the strong ending remains consistent with the 12-month sale totals from previous years.
Due to the final month sales totals, the final machine tool order number for 2013 has been reported to be around $4.94 billion, which is actually a 5.1% decline from 2012. As the first quarter of 2014 quickly approaches, many machine tool manufacturers and distributors are anxiously awaiting the upcoming sales results.
Provided by The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the final numbers are based on specific information that is compiled from fabricating equipment, cutting equipment and metal forming sales.While the actual 2013 sales numbers might be larger, the data has only been reported by participating businesses.
Since only certain machine tool distributors and manufacturers have provided their sales information, many industry analysts and critics strongly believe that the 2013 numbers are actually much closer to the 2012 numbers than the 5.1% decrease might indicate. The president of AMT, Douglas K. Woods, says that “With a strong finish to 2013 for manufacturing technology orders, plus strong reports for durable goods, capacity utilization, and PMI, there is plenty of favorable momentum for the industry going into 2014”. Quoted from: http://www.amtonline.org/newsroom/AMTPressRoom/february102014usmtonewsreleasefordecembermanufacturingtechnologyorders.htm
The comments made by Woods propose that there is a possibility of a strong finish in 2013 because of buying decisions by distributors and manufactures that strive to place new types of machine tools into specialized capital spending plans for the entire year.
Without question, many machine tool business owners are hoping that this trend continues to roll into 2014. By having the machine tool sales numbers continue to remain consistent for the first quarter of 2014, the final numbers for the year are sure to exceed 2012 and 2013. Continuing on the subject, Wood states that “The average age of corporate fixed assets is at almost 22 years, and interest rates are historically low.
This one-two punch is creating a ripe atmosphere for investment in capital equipment, which we anticipate will translate into more great news for manufacturing growth”. As interest rates continue to remain lower than ever and machine tools continue to age, the formula for increased sales in 2014 had quickly been developed. In fact, this is the perfect recipe for the highest machine tool sales in the past 5 years. Because of this, the machine tool industry is eager to see what 2014 brings in terms of sales figures.