New orders for American-made machine tools rose...

New orders for American-made machine tools rose 29% in September to $183.2 million from a revised $142 million in August, the National Machine Tool Builders Assn. said. Machine tools are power-driven devices used to shape metal parts; their sales are an indicator of capital spending by heavy industry. The orders total for the month represents a 31.8% rise to $127 million in orders for metal-cutting equipment and a 23% rise to $56.15 million in metal-forming orders. The report of increased orders for machine tools, after disappointing figures for the sector in August, is said to be another sign that the economy strengthened in late summer.