Machine shop and automotive plants will spend $12.2 billion on machinery and equipment in 2003, including $844 million on materials handling, says Gardner Research's 35th annual capital spending survey. That $844 million will be split into 35.2% on conveyors, 29% on automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), 3.8% on automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), and the balance on other equipment. The $12.2 billion total is up 6% from what U.S. durable goods manufacturers spent in 2002, which was the lowest spending year since the survey began, says Steve Kline, executive vice president of Gardner Publications. The sectors that will lead this increase are automotive, aerospace, medical equipment, defense power generation, and energy production.