Industrial Laser Shipments Hold Steady in 2003

Level with the previous year, 2003 shipments of industrial laser equipment and systems within North America together with US exports totaled $422 million, according to a report from the Laser Systems Product Group of the Association for Manufacturing Technology. As revealed by the 43 companies surveyed, shipments within North America totaled $316.1 million, while exports amounted to $105.9 million.
The figures for CO₂ laser systems and Nd:YAG lasers remained flat, compared with 2002, and cutting applications accounted for nearly 55 percent of dispatches. Slightly more than half of the lasers sent out were CO₂ types, and three-quarters of the total shipments were designated as systems. Statistics are based on data received from companies that participated in both the 2002 and '03 surveys.