ROCKVILLE, MD-U.S. machine tool consumption totaled just over $3 billion in 2005, up 8.4 percent from 2004.

"December orders for machine tools increased an impressive 31 percent over November, bringing total year-over-year growth of 8.4 percent for the nation," says John B. Byrd, president of the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA), which compiled the numbers in cooperation with the Association for Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA).