U.S. machine tool spending down 19%

Novel coronavirus pneumonia is affecting the decision of the global machine tool buyers to purchase new equipment in 2021 and the type of machine tools purchased by Gardner Intelligence, 2021. The survey shows that the new The epidemic situation is affecting the decision of the global machine tool buyers to purchase new equipment in 2021 and the type of machine tools purchased. The survey shows that the new crown pneumonia epidemic situation is affecting the global buyers of machine tools in 2021. Among them, reducing costs and increasing operational flexibility are the two important reasons for processing enterprises to purchase machine tools in 2021.

What impact will this statistical result have on the global machine tool market?

01 | overall expenditure continued to decline

The novel coronavirus pneumonia is affecting the purchase plan of processing enterprises. According to the survey, the expenditure of processing enterprises on machine tools in 2021 is expected to be US $5.092 billion, down 19% compared with 2020, which will be the third consecutive year of decline in machine tool procurement.

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Consumption of machine tools in the United States from 2008 to 2021

The forecast expenditure in 2021 is lower than that in 2020, largely because the planned expenditure of "other machine tools" is rapidly decreasing. This category includes auxiliary tools, such as drills, special machine tools, gear grinding machines, etc. In 2021, the planned expenditure on "other types of machine tools" is US $757 million, which is US $884 million less than that in 2020. This field is expected to decline by more than 50%, accounting for nearly 75% of the expected decline in machine tool expenditure.

For those processing enterprises planning to purchase machine tools, what influences their purchase decisions? From the figure below, we can see that among the various motivations for purchasing equipment, the importance of all motivations has declined except for reducing cost and increasing activity.

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Motivation of enterprises to purchase equipment

02 | strong growth of turning equipment investment

In the context of the decline of overall expenditure, some products are favored by enterprises, thus increasing the purchasing power. Spending on lathes / turning centers is expected to grow by 36% to $1269 million, which will be the largest spending on lathes / turning centers since 2014.

The expenditure of lathe / turning center with milling / drilling capacity is expected to reach US $752 million, an increase of 30% year on year, which may be the highest ever expenditure of such machine tools. In contrast, the planned spending on lathes alone is $368 million, which is only half of the planned spending on multi-function lathes / lathe centers, in sharp contrast to two years ago, when multi-function compound machines meet the needs of processing enterprises: they reduce costs by reducing clamping, and they allow more types of machines to be processed on one machine than turning only lathes spare parts.

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Five axis machining center and lathe milling / drilling are two outstanding growth areas

This phenomenon is also reflected in international machine tool brands. Recently, many manufacturers have launched a composite machining center, which is dedicated to complete the turning, milling, drilling, pipe, tapping, reaming, reaming and other operations on a single machine tool. These exhibitors will bring new products to the 2021 ites Shenzhen industrial exhibition.

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Mazak of Japan has launched a new generation of integrated i-500. It not only has the turning, milling and 5-axis processing capabilities of the compound processing equipment, but also integrates the capabilities of special machine tools such as gear forming, roll milling and long bit processing. It can complete all the processing from the blank to the finished product in one clamping, greatly improving the production efficiency and reducing the production cost.

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Haas vmt-750 vertical milling / turning machining center combines the rigid structure of vf-3yt vertical machining center and the solid spindle of st-15 large diameter turning machining center. It is a multi-functional and multi task machining center, which can process medium-sized complex parts in one setting and complete the milling and turning of complex parts at one time.

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Haitian precision vmc850 II series is A-shaped single column fixed vertical machining center with mobile worktable structure, high rigidity of basic parts and lightweight of mobile parts. It can complete milling, boring, drilling, tapping and other processes under one clamping. It is suitable for high-speed precision machining of small and medium-sized mechanical parts in general machinery, automobile, aerospace, textile machinery and other industries.

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Nicholas's fox-60 gantry machining center weighs nearly 87 tons, including constant temperature control system, automatic head changing system and automatic tool changing system. In addition, it is also equipped with industry-class universal milling head and five axis linkage milling head. The two milling heads can be replaced automatically, and the product only needs to be clamped once, which greatly improves the processing efficiency of the product, and the precision reaches micron level.

Unlike lathe / turning centers, spending on three-axis vertical machining centers (VMCs) is expected to decline by 18% to $906 million, the third consecutive year of decline. However, expenditure on the five axis vertical machining center is expected to increase by 73% to $419 million.

The same pattern can be seen in horizontal machining center (HMC). Spending on three-axis horizontal machining centers is expected to drop 35% to $511 million. Like the three-axis vertical machining center, this will be the third consecutive year for the three-axis horizontal machining center to cut expenditure. However, expenditures on five axis horizontal machining centers are expected to increase by 27% to $316 million.

03 | changes in the supply chain

Gardner intelligence believes that most industries are expected to decline in 2021. However, processing companies plan to increase machine tool spending by 6% to $1.864 billion. This may indicate that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are outsourcing more jobs, perhaps to reduce their own costs, or to move jobs back to the United States and bring their supply bases closer.

It is estimated that the expenditure of customized processing enterprises (usually those producing injection molded parts) on machine tools will increase by 77% to US $101 million. Generally speaking, customized processing enterprises need to purchase machine tools to manufacture molds. Covid-19, the plastics market is more demanding than other manufacturing industries during the new crown epidemic. The strong momentum in the plastics market, coupled with increased spending on machine tools by custom processing companies, may confirm the shift of supply chains in the United States and around the world.