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ment was 56, indicating expansion in manufacturing for the fifth consecutive month. There was also growth in capac- ity utilization and industrial production in December, the most recent month for which data are available. "There has been a significant uptick in shipments for cutting tools, the primary consumable in the manufacturing process, and machine shop spending for the month was up 32 percent from No- vember," said Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. "Since large manufac- turers will leverage their supply chain's capital equipment before expanding their own capacity, gains for machine shop investment are promising because they typically mark an overall greater need for capacity, and a broader upturn on the horizon." Orders for December 2016 totaled $406.72 million, up from November's $337.24 million. The December monthly order value was the second high- est for the year after September's $503.67 million, which was when orders were reg- istered from The International Manufac- turing Technology Show. Total orders for 2016 were valued at $4,013.13 mil- lion compared to $4,178.23 million in 2015. USMTO data is a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing companies invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and im- prove productivity. 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. Antimicrobial coatings market continues to grow NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.—The an- timicrobial coatings market is growing due to expansion of the global medical device coatings market and increasing application of coatings and additives in plastic packaging. Massive unexplored markets in the medical industry of de- veloping economies is creating ample opportunities for the antimicrobial coatings market to grow at a consider- able rate in the coming years. This is ac- cording to Global Industry Insight: An- timicrobial Coatings Market Size, Share, Development, Growth, and Demand Forecast to 2020, a report from P&S Market Research, an industrial market research firm. Advanced R&D facilities and new product developments are sup- porting demand for antimicrobial coat- ings in the developing countries of Asia- Pacific and Latin America. North America is leading the antimi- crobial coatings market and is expected to be the fastest growing antimicrobial coatings market in the coming years. The major reasons for the fastest growth in the region are increasing healthcare expenditure and high standards of liv- ing of the consumers in the region. Moreover, the antimicrobial coatings market is growing due to an increase of antimicrobial coatings applications, such as construction, medical, and food, in emerging countries. US primary aluminum production rate surveyed ARLINGTON, Va.—Based on Alu- minum Association surveys, the annual rate of US primary aluminum produc- tion totaled 735,828 metric tons (tonnes) during January 2017, a drop of 32.2 percent from the January 2016 an- nual rate of 1,086,064 tonnes. Com- pared to the previous month, the an- nual rate of production declined 1.4 percent from the December 2016 an- nual rate of 745,967 tonnes. Produc- tion for 2016 totaled 818,430 tonnes, off 48.4 percent from the 2015 total of 1,586,518 tonnes. Actual production for the month of January 2017 totaled 62,495 tonnes. Participating compa- nies account for 100 percent of US pri- mary aluminum production. Global automotive coatings market analyzed DUBLIN, Ireland—The global auto- motive coatings, adhesives, and sealants market is expected to grow at a com- pound average growth rate (CAGR) of 5.67 percent from 2016-2020. This is according to Global Automotive Coat- ings, Adhesives, and Sealants Market 2016-2020, a report from Research and Markets, an industrial market research firm. The report covers the present sce- nario and the growth prospects of the global automotive coatings, adhesives, and sealants market, including a ranking of the leading vendors and the revenue generated from sales by these vendors. Incorporating nanocoatings will be a key trend for market growth. Estab- lished vendors in the market are increas- ing their expenditure on R&D to cap- ture a larger proportion of the market share through new product introduc- tions. In fact, increased focus on R&D will be a key driver for market growth, as will advances in automotive refinish coatings technology. 30 POWDER COATING, March 2017