A report on third-quarter 2001 industrial laser shipments shows that, at $105.2 million, the North American and US exports were down 37 percent from third-quarter 2000 levels. The statistics gathered by the Laser Systems Product Group of the Association for Manufacturing Technology indicate that shipments within North America totaled $71.2 million. CO2 and Nd:YAG laser shipments declined 30 and 45 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. Cutting applications accounted for 45 percent of the shipments.Half of the lasers delivered for the year were CO2 lasers, and more than 80 percent were configured as systems. Statistics reflect the data supplied by 45 companies that participated in third-quarter surveys for both years.