At more than $641 million, 2004 shipments of industrial laser equipment and systems for North American exports, including the US, were up 52 percent over 2003 figures, according to the Laser Systems Product Group of the Association for Manufacturing Technology in McLean, Va. Based on statistics from 41 companies, the report indicates that shipments within North America amounted to $457.2 million, while exports totaled $183.2 million.

Shipments of CO₂ laser systems increased 55 percent, and Nd:YAG lasers, 47 percent. More than half of the laser activity involved cutting applications. Nearly 55 percent of the devices shipped were of the CO₂ type, and nearly three-quarters of the total dispatches were configured as laser systems.