Chicago—Business and optimism are picking up in many sectors of the industrial economy. The most recent annual member survey of the Power Transmission Distributors Assn. revealed a positive outlook among that group, and a January report on machine tool consumption showed strong signs, as well.

Orders for power transmission and motion control products, systems and service are at their best pace in several years, say most of the managers that participated in PTDA's 2004 Annual Member Forecast Survey. Customer activity jumped at many companies late in 2003, and quotes have been turning into sales, according to PTDA.

"We had a couple of real strong months toward the end of 2003," said Andy Nations, president of PTDA distributor Bearings & Drives, Inc., of Macon, Ga. "We had customers bring projects they had put off for a couple of years out of mothballs. It seems like most people are cautiously optimistic."

The same was true at Miller Bearings, Inc., a PTDA distributor headquartered in Orlando, Fla.

"We had a strong fourth quarter and we're trending on a positive note," said Craig Faber, president of Miller Bearings. "So far, that trend has continued into January."

Manufacturers had similar sentiments.

"We closed 2003 on a strong note," said Cliff Bannon, director of sales and marketing-industrial distribution for Dichtomatik North America of Shakpoee, Minn. "We're normally slow in December, but December 2003 was our best month in company history."

More than 100 companies responded to the survey. Nearly three-quarters said the economy is back in a period of economic growth. Last year at this time, two-thirds of respondents to the PTDA survey thought the economy was in decline.

Another signal that the industrial economy is picking up came in early March when two industry trade groups reported that U.S. machine tool demand jumped nearly 20 percent in January.

The American Machine Tool Distributors' Assn. and the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology reported that January machine tool demand jumped to $161.19 million, up 19.4 percent compared to January 2003.

January demand fell nearly 24 percent compared to December 2003, however. AMTDA president Ralph Nappi attributed the decline to companies taking advantage of year-end tax incentives in December.

Demand for machine tools can be a leading indicator of the pace of manufacturing. The AMTDA/AMT machine tools report is based on a survey of about 200 manufacturers, distributors and importers of machine tools.