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Producers	Exporters	Importers
Trade Balance	Consumers	Per Capita
Analysis	Country Reports	Methodology
Reports/Presentations

How the World Machine-Tool Survey Was Taken

Short History. This series of annual reports of world machine-tool production, trade, and consumption was started in 1965 at American Machinist magazine. In the early 1980s, Joe Jablonowski, at that time on the staff of that magazine and now editor of Gardner’s Metalworking Insiders’ Report   newsletter, joined the project. Twelve years ago, Gardner Publications, Inc. (Cincinnati, Ohio) began annual preparation of the surveys for its publications and Web site.

The methodology has remained constant. Most of the information comes from official sources sent directly to Gardner’s research department. Some field reports are drawn from the newsletter’s correspondents. Coordination of the data collection is through Nancy Eigel-Miller, Gardner research manager in Cincinnati.

Sources. The revised data for 2006 as well as the estimated data for 2007 is sourced at government agencies or trade associations. Also, special assistance came from the fifteen-member CECIMO consortium (Comité Européen de Coopération des Industries de la Machines-Outil, Brussels, Belgium) and from the American association, AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology (McLean, Virginia).

Notes on entries. The reliability of such sources varies somewhat from country to country. When it is necessary, the editors develop an estimate that is based on information from a number of sources, including import and export data from the country’s trading partners. When this is done, it is indicated by a “c” (for “circa”) next to the particular figure on the Producers table.

The Survey provides estimates for 2006 and updated figures for 2005. If no estimate for 2006 is available, the 2005 figure is carried forward unrevised and marked with a “u,” that is, the same figure is used for 2006, except that it is converted to dollars at the 2005 rate.

Definitions. A machine tool is usually defined as a power-driven machine, not portable by hand, and powered by an external source of energy. It is designed specifically for metalworking either by cutting, forming, physico-chemical processing, or a combination of these techniques.

Machine tools are traditionally broken down into two categories: Metalcutting and metalforming. Metalcutting machines typically cut away chips or swarf and include (but are not limited to) broaching machines, drilling machines, electrical-discharge machines, gearcutting machines, grinders, machining centers, milling machines, transfer machines, and turning machines such as lathes. Metalforming machines typically squeeze metal into shape and include (but are not limited to (bending machines, cold-heading machines, presses, shears, coil slitters, and stamping machines.

Data here are solicited for metalcutting machines (codes 8456-8461 under the Harmonized Tariff System) and for metalforming machines (8462-8463) and are solicited for complete machines only, not including parts or rebuilt machines.

Exchange rates. All local-currency figures are translated into dollars at the average commercial rate for the entire year (not the end-of-year rate) as reported at www.oanda.com.

Effect of Currency Fluctuations. Percentage changes discussed in the Country Reports and in the Analysis are in the original local currency and are the true measure of a nation’s machine-tool industry. Year-to-year variations in exchange rates caused by inflation, etc., can distort those percentage changes somewhat after they are converted to dollars. Some countries report their production in U.S. dollars, and this is noted above and on the Producers table.

Scope. Information from the 29 countries represented in the survey does not include all the machine-tool production and trade activity in the world, but it is thought to encompass more than 96%. In some cases like Thailand a machine-tool market exists, but data on production are not compiled locally, and the country cannot be included in the survey. Please see the Country Reports section for contacts within some of these non-reporting countries.

Preparation of the raw data for presentation in HTML on the Web is done by Tracy Dugan of the GardnerWeb staff.

‘Shipments’ vs. ‘Orders.’ Many countries, in addition to contributing statistics to this Survey, also track orders for new machine tools. These are—by their nature—different sets of numbers, and they may or may not be related.

This WMTO&C Survey is based on actual shipments of new machine tools from the factories in which they are produced. In contrast, the various order compilations in individual countries around the world are based on bookings for machines that will be shipped in the future.  The time lag between those two events varies greatly: An in-stock lathe might be shipped one day after the order is placed; whereas a complex engine-machining line might take nearly a year to be completed.

A question often comes up about comparison between the United States statistics cited here in the WMTO&CS and figures from the “U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption” (USMTC) series of monthly orders.  The two are not comparable. For one thing, despite the word “consumption” in its title, the USMTC deals with orders, or, more elaborately, “orders for consumption.” In contrast, “consumption” in this WMTO&CS is derived from a formula (local shipments + imports – exports = consumption). For another thing, the history and methodology of the USMTC series makes its totals reliant on voluntary participation that does not reflect the entire market, despite its value as a month-to-month barometer.

Additional Data. For more detailed statistics, we highly recommend The Economic Handbook of The Machine Tool Industry, published by AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Virginia, USA. The CD-ROM costs $295 + $5 shipping and handling. Order from http://www.amtonline.org/