PT/MC market continues to strengthen

Sales of power transmission/motion control equipment continued to rise through the month of May, proving the vitality of the industry, says a report from the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA), Chicago.

In May, U.S. distributors' year-to-date sales of PT/MC products rose 10.8% as compared to sales for January through May 2005. Sales increased 4.8% over the previous month and were up 13.6% as compared to April 2005. For May, the confidence level of U.S. distributors increased from 6.7 to 7.3 on a 10-point scale.

In May, U.S. manufacturers' year-to-date sales of PT/MC products increased 7.3% as compared to sales for January through May 2005. Sales were up 6.2% over the previous month and increased 7.2% as compared to May 2005.

As compared to April, sales of mounted bearings, unmounted bearings, variable speed drives, positioning system/linear motion products, gear products, mechanical drive systems and other PT products, clutches and brakes, and shaft couplings increased. Sales of standard industrial motors decreased.

Year-to-date orders of PT/MC products from U.S. manufacturers grew 8.7% as compared to the same period in 2005. May orders decreased 1.3% from April, but were up 7.8% as compared to May 2005. For May, the confidence level of U.S. manufacturers held steady at 5.6 on a 10-point scale.