First-Quarter Laser Shipments Climb 29%

Totaling $158.5 million, shipments of industrial laser equipment and systems for North America and for US exports in the first quarter were up 29 percent over last year's figures, according to a report from the Laser Systems Product Group of the Association for Manufacturing Technology in McLean, Va. Based on data supplied by 39 companies, the compilation indicates that shipments within North America amounted to $109.9 million, while exports totaled $48.6 million.

Shipments of CO₂ laser systems increased 39 percent, and Nd:YAG lasers, 17 percent. More than half of the laser activity involved cutting applications. Nearly 60 percent of the devices shipped were of the CO₂ type, and more than 80 percent of the total dispatches were designated as laser systems.