January production and sales of manufacturing technology equipment and services in Connecticut and other Northeast states was nearly double a year earlier, a strong capital investment that foreshadows higher capacity and productivity, industry surveys say.
The Northeast’s manufacturing technology consumption for the first month of the year stood at $49.21 million, down 25.6 percent from December’s $66.13 million but up 92.4 percent from the January 2010 total.
The tallies are from surveys conducted by the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association and The Association For Manufacturing Technology.
Nationwide, consumption totaled $371.4 million, down 16.3 percent from December but up 188.3 percent from $128.8 million reported for January 2010.Â
“Despite the slight decline in orders from December, the January USMTC report confirms that U.S. manufacturers are reinvesting vigorously to improve productivity,” said machine tool association President Peter Borden. “As equipment deliveries grow longer and commodity prices increase, factories may continue to make these investments before inflation and other factors raise prices further.”
The Northeast’s year-to-year pace was the smallest of the five regions – Southern, Midwest, Central and Western – sampled. The Western region led the way with a 284.1 percent sales gain.
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