US March machine tool demand up from February

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - Demand for the machine tools that shape metal for products such as car engines and refrigerators surged in March, two groups said in a joint report on Sunday.

U.S. March machine tool demand climbed 84.4 percent to $544.62 million from $295.39 million in February, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) said.

Demand grew 36.1 percent from $400.19 million a year earlier in March 2007.

February demand was revised downward from $308.50 million reported a month ago.

In the first three months of 2008, demand for machine tools, which gives a sense of the pace of manufacturing, stood at $1.184 billion, up 16.4 percent from $1.017 billion in the same 2007 period.

"The March consumption numbers, as well as the first quarter as a whole, clearly demonstrate that the investment incentive stimulus package along with the weak dollar are helping metalworking manufacturing to counteract the weaknesses in the other sectors of the economy," said AMTDA President Peter Borden in a statement.

Demand for machine tools soared throughout the country in March. In the Midwest, demand grew 201.9 percent, while demand increased 67.8 percent in the South and 64.3 percent in the West.

Demand also rose 57.3 percent in the Northeast and 21.9 percent in the Central United States.

The machine tools report is generally based on a survey of about 200 manufacturers, distributors and importers of machine tools that represent 76 percent of the machine tool market. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Andrea Ricci)