US machine tool consumption continued to shrink in January 2009

According to the statistics of the American Machine Tool Distributors Association (AMTDA) and the American Manufacturing Technology Association (AMT), in January 2009, the consumption of machine tools in the United States was 94.95 million US dollars, a decrease of 59.2% compared with December 2008. $338 million was down 71.9%. In terms of product categories, the consumption of metal cutting machine tools in January 2009 was US$84.57 million, a year-on-year decrease of 72.7%, and the consumption of metal forming and manufacturing machine tools was US$10.38 million, a year-on-year decrease of 69.7%. AMTDA chairman Peter Borden said the consumption data was the lowest since 1996 and it was too early to predict whether there would be a bottoming out in 2009.