Materials handling: CEMA report says booked orders were down in August, but shipments were up

By Lorie King Rogers, Associate Editor

In its latest monthly report, the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reported that its August 2010 Booked Orders Index was 126. Index in August is down 5 points or 4% from July 2010’s Index of 131. The August 2010 Index represents an increase of 25% from the August 2009 Index of 101.

CEMA’s baseline calculation uses the year 1990 as a comparison.  Numbers to the right of the equation show the current state of the conveyor industry as compared to 1990.  Figures above 100 indicate growth; while anything less indicates a contraction in the industry.

The Twelve-Month Index for Booked Orders was 123 in August. Index in August represents an increase of 3% from July 2010’s Twelve-Month Index of 120.
The CEMA Billed Sales (shipments) Index was 161 in August. Index in August represents an increase of 13% from July 2010’s Index of 142. The August 2010 Index represents an increase of 55% from the August 2009 Index of 104.

The Twelve-Month Index for Billed Sales was 118 in August. Index in August represents an increase of 4% from July 2010’s Twelve-Month Index of 113.

While the booked orders were down slightly in August for the second consecutive month, shipments posted a solid increase.  What does this say about the current state of the conveyor industry?  In an interview with Modern, Bob Reinfried, CEMA’s executive vice president, said, that the word throughout the industry is that there was a little slow down at the end of summer, but the hope is that things will pick up. 

“Overall,” said Reinfried, “our bookings are better than billed sales for the year and shipments are up again this month, so this report may be an indication that there’s a bit of catching up on shipments side and bookings will remain steady.”

Comparing 2010 to 2009, Reinfried said the first eight months of 2010 are up quite a bit over last year and he still thinks it’s going to be a good year for the North American conveyor industry this year.  “I think we’re tracking right along with our forecast of 2% to 10% annual growth for the industry,” Reinfried said.