The Laser Systems Product Group of the Association for Manufacturing Technology in McLean, Va., has reported that shipments of industrial lasers for North America and US export in the first quarter were up 30 percent from the same period last year. The study is based on data supplied to the group by 46 member companies. The declared value of lasers and laser systems shipped in the first quarter of 2000 reached $171.1 million. More than 80 percent were laser systems. Fifty-five percent of shipments were CO2 lasers, and pulsed and continuous-wave (CW) Nd:YAG lasers represented 46 percent of the total, with the value of the CW lasers reaching more than $66 million.