ASSEMBLY magazine would like to thank all the respondents who participated in its 14th annual capital equipment spending survey.

ASSEMBLY magazine is sent to 56,111 assembly professionals in more than 33,164 locations. Questionnaires were either mailed or e-mailed in mid-July to a random sample of 8,481 subscribers in management positions. Forty-seven percent of respondents were corporate management, 46 percent were manufacturing management, and 7 percent were design management.

The cutoff date for returning the surveys was Sept. 30. Some 273 surveys were returned for a response rate of 3 percent.

For statistical reliability, the survey was only sent to manufacturers in NAIC 339 and 332 through 336, which represent 90 percent of ASSEMBLY’s readership. Manufacturers of wood products, plastic and rubber products, primary metals and furniture were excluded. By industry, 28 percent of respondents were in NAIC 332, 18 percent were in NAIC 333, 14 percent were in NAIC 334, 11 percent were in NAIC 335, 21 percent were in NAIC 336, and 8 percent were in NAIC 339.

Geographically, 18 percent of respondents were located in the Northeast, 36 percent were in the Midwest, 28 percent were in the South, and 18 percent were in the West.

Thirty-four percent of respondents had 25 employees or less. In addition, 14 percent had 26 to 50 employees, 16 percent had 51 to 100 employees, 19 percent had 101 to 250 employees, 10 percent had 251 to 500 employees, and 7 percent had more than 500 employees.

Twenty-three percent of respondents assemble products that can fit inside a 12-inch cube, 18 percent make products that can fit inside a 24-inch cube, 15 percent make products that fit inside a 36-inch cube, 21 percent make products that fit inside a 6-foot cube, and 24 percent make products that are larger than a 6-foot cube.

Fourteen percent of respondents were high-volume manufacturers, 47 percent were mid-volume manufacturers, and 39 percent were low-volume manufacturers. Thirty-four percent of respondents were high-variety manufacturers, 34 percent were mid-variety manufacturers, and 32 percent were low-variety manufacturers.

Overall, the survey results have a sampling error of ±6 percent.