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30 POWDER COATING, August 2016 "The current conditions for manufac- turing technology providers are a reflec- tion of larger stagnation in manufactur- ing and the overall economy. Some in- dustries are performing well, and others a r e s t r u g g l i n g , " s a i d D o u g l a s K . Woods, AMT president. "Automotive and aerospace, which mitigated the market decline for the last 15 months of the current downturn, continue to hold their own but they aren't growing. Some industries are growing, such as consumer electronics, firearms, and medical, but those represent only 12 percent of our overall market. Weak- ness continues in the oil and gas and construction and off-road industries." Industry forecasters continue to antici- pate an upswing in business in the fourth quarter. However, the current market downturn was more than forecasters had expected. AMT member companies re- port strong levels of quotation activity, but longer conversion rates for order placement. Manufacturing companies are resistant to make investments in cap- ital equipment out of a sense of caution. April 2016 manufacturing technology orders were valued at $284.10 million, compared to $391.69 million in April 2015. Monthly orders dropped 25.5 percent compared to March 2016. Year to date, total orders stand at $1,230.94 million, compared to $1,476.42 at the same point the previous year. The USMTO report provides regional and national US orders data of domes- tic and imported machine tools and re- lated equipment. AMT represents and promotes US-based manufacturing technology and its members, including those who design, build, sell, and service the continuously evolving technology that lies at the heart of manufacturing. The USMTO report is compiled by AMT and all data in the report is based on the totals of actual data reported by c o m p a n i e s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e USMTO program. Global packaging coatings market thoroughly analyzed DUBLIN, Ireland—The global pack- aging coatings industry is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2 percent from 2015 to 2020. This is according to Global Pack- aging Coating Industry 2015-2020: Trend, Forecast, and Opportunity Analy- sis, a report from Research and Markets, an industrial market research firm. For market expansion, the report suggests innovation and new product develop- ment to reduce volatile organic com- pounds (VOCs), to improve the recycla- bility of the packaging materials, and to maintain flavor neutrality. The report further suggests development of part- nerships with customers to create win- win situations and the development of low-cost solutions for end users. The re- port analyzes the global packaging coat- ing industry by substrate, formulation type, resin type, and region. Canadian primary aluminum production declines in May M O N T R E A L , Q u e . — T h e A l u - minum Association of Canada reported that the annual rate of primary alu- minum production in Canada declined slightly for the first time in the last 12 months. The rate of production in May 2016 decreased nine-tenths of one per- cent to an annual rate of 3,213,291 metric tonnes, down 30,140 tonnes from the April 2016 rate of 3,243,431 TPY. Compared to a year ago, produc- tion was up 13.9 percent over the May 2015 rate of 2,820,355 TPY. Actual production in May totaled 272,164 metric tonnes. Through the first five months of 2016, production is up 12.7 percent over the same period in 2015. This report is based on information provided to The Aluminum Associa- tion of Canada by survey participants, which is aggregated by the Association. Primary metals leading index increases in May RESTON, Va.—The primary metals l e a d i n g i n d e x a n d i t s 6 - m o n t h smoothed growth rate both increased in May. The USGS metals price index growth rate contributed most to this ad- vance. Steel industry index component advances in the S&P stock price index of steel companies, retail sales of passenger cars, and the growth rate of the price of steel scrap indicate strength in the com- modity price of steel and durable goods demand in steel products. The growth rate in the leading index of metal prices has accelerated from January through April. This recent strength in the metal price growth rate is an important high- light because it is an indication of possi- ble strength in the US economy. The primary metals leading index in- creased to 158.6 in May from a revised 157.4 in April. The index's 6-month smoothed growth rate, a compound an- nual rate that measures the near-term trend, increased to 2.2 percent from 0.7 percent in April. A growth rate above +1.0 percent is usually a sign of an up- ward near-term trend for future metals activity, whereas a growth rate below -1.0 percent indicates a downward trend. The second consecutive positive month in the 6-month smoothed growth rate suggests that primary metals industry ac- tivity continues to strengthen. Metals are key inputs in durable goods manufactur- ing and construction, which account for almost a quarter of gross domestic prod- uct final sales. Three of the four indicators that were available to calculate the index increased in May. Average weekly hours and the USGS metals price index growth rate made the largest contribution to May's increase in the primary metals leading index. The May leading index should be considered preliminary because only four of its eight indicators were avail- able, and the leading index will be sub- ject to revision when the other compo- nents are added next month. Epoxy coating market analyzed to 2021 VANCOUVER, Wash.—The market size of epoxy coatings is estimated to grow from $26.34 billion in 2016 to $33.97 billion by 2021, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.22 percent. This is according to Epoxy Coat- ings Market by Technology (Solvent borne, Waterborne, and Powder-Based) and Ap- plication (Construction, Transportation, General Industrial, and Others) — Fore- cast to 2021, a new market report offered by MarketsandMarkets, an industrial re- search firm. The epoxy coatings indus- try is witnessing high growth because of increasing applications, growing de- mand from waterborne epoxy coatings, and rising demand in developing coun- tries. Epoxy coatings are largely used in construction applications. Rapid growth of the epoxy coatings market is driven by increasing demand from its end use industries. The report covers the epoxy coatings market by technology and by application.