After tightening their purse strings in 2002, manufacturers are beginning to shop for assembly technology again.
And, even though manufacturers allocated fewer dollars to assembly technology in 2002 than they had in previous years, they spent most of what they planned. According to ASSEMBLY magazine’s seventh annual capital equipment spending survey, 52 percent of U.S. assembly plants spent 90 percent or more of their 2002 budgets for assembly equipment. That’s the highest such percentage in 5 years.