According to newly released figures by industry analyst EDA, new machine tool equipment sales jumped from 1,288 units in November 2016 to 1,744 in December—its highest number of the year and just slightly under 2015’s highest monthly number of 1,825 units, also in December.
Used machine tool equipment sales also jumped at the end of 2016, from 762 units in November to 1,241 in December. That’s still well below its 2015 peak month of 1,637 units sold in October of that year.
The yearly machine tool equipment totals for 2016 are 16,000 new equipment units and 11,293 used equipment units.
The strong finish of machine tool sales in 2016 follows the same general pattern as cutting tool consumption, which rose 4.4 percent from November ($168.69 million) to December ($176.04 million) and manufacturing technology orders, which jumped 20.6 percent from November’s $337.24 million to December’s $406.72 million spent.
EDA’s ‘IndustryInsight’ trend chart is based on monthly statistical data on UCC financing activity in the U.S. for sale and lease transactions of equipment.