Workholding Shipments on the Rise

At $64.6 million, shipments of workholding equipment from U.S. manufacturers were up 8.2 percent in the second quarter of 2007, compared with the same period a year before, according to the Workholding Product Group (WPG) of The Association For Manufacturing Technology (www.AMTonline.org). Thirty-five companies participate in the statistical report, which indicated that domestic shipments totaled $56 million and exports amounted to $8.6 million.

Domestic shipments were up 8.6 percent from last year, while exports were up 5.7 percent.

The Midwest remained the largest destination, accounting for 39.6 percent of total domestic shipments – about the same as a year ago.

The West, Central, South, and Northeast regions share of orders also closely mirrored their second-quarter 2006 shares.

Second quarter 2007 employment levels by manufacturers were up 9.2 percent from the same quarter in 2006.