NEWS DESK WHAT’S NEW IN MANUFACTURING
n Industry Looks to IMTS Bump Amid Slump M
akers of machine tools, robots and other manufacturing
technology convened in Chicago for the 2016 edition of IMTS, looking for a bump in sales amid an industry slump. The 2016 show, produced by the Association for Manufactur- ing Technology (AMT; McLean, VA) on Sept. 12–17, was the third-largest for registrations (115,612) and in net square foot- age of exhibit space (1,370,256 ft2; 127,300 m²). It had the largest number of exhibiting companies ever at 2407, accord- ing to AMT. On the fi rst day of the show, AMT also reported that orders for manufacturing technology had dropped almost 25% in July from the month before and 23% from July 2015.
“Bottom line: The numbers
weren’t pleasant,” Pat McGib- bon, an AMT vice president, said in a video concerning the July report.
At the same time, “IMTS has always been a bit of a bump in our business cycle, a signifi cant one usually and
More than 100,000 people registered to attend the 2016 edition of IMTS, third best turnout in the show’s history.
couraging exploration. The strong dollar makes US-produced goods more expensive in international markets. Finally, auto- motive and aerospace, the two best performers in manufac- turing, showed signs of softness by the middle of the year.
“IMTS has always been a bit of a bump in our business cycle.”
we expect the same thing to occur in 2016,” McGibbon said. The actual bump won’t be known until the fi rst half of November when AMT releases its manufacturing technol- ogy report for September.
The industry has been slumping for various reasons. The energy industry, which has been a major market for manu- facturing tech, is the doldrums because of low oil prices, dis-
McGibbon said a more sustained improvement beyond whatever IMTS rise occurs isn’t likely until 2017. “By the time we get to April of 2017 we should be seeing
a signifi cant pickup in our orders,” McGibbon said. Still, with an event the size of IMTS, there were still an- nouncements made during the trade show. Additive manu- facturing fi gured prominently.
November 2016 |
AdvancedManufacturing.org 15
Photo courtesy of the Association for Manufacturing Technology
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