MANUFACTURING

Machine Tool Orders Plunge: October orders for U.S. tools totaled $365.3 million, down 29% from $514.6 million in September but 45.5% higher than in October, 1993, according to the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology. The trade group represents makers of tools that cut and shape metal for products ranging from appliances to airplanes. For the first 10 months of the year, machine tool orders totaled $3.71 billion, a 35.8% increase from the same period a year ago. Higher orders for machine tools tend to indicate that manufacturers are optimistic about sales. Analysts did not expect October’s figures to compete with those of September, when the industry’s most well-received trade show in at least a decade prompted a 57.2% increase in orders over August.