The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reports that 2015 shipments in North America were up 7.7%. CEMA estimates that shipments totaled $11.923 billion for 2015, a record level and an increase of $860 million from 2014 shipments of $11.063 billion.

CEMA estimates that new orders totaled $11.154 billion in 2015. New orders in 2015 were $246 million more than 2014, representing an increase of 2.2%.

Unit Handling orders were up 9.6% and shipments were up 14.8%. In the Bulk Conveying area, orders were down 10.7% and shipments were down 5.5%.

CEMA President, Jerry Heathman, announced the results at the Association’s 83rd annual meeting in La Quinta, CA earlier this month.

CEMA tracks new orders and shipped sales volume in nine classes of unit handling equipment and four classes of bulk handling equipment.

The executives representing CEMA member companies who attended the annual meeting expressed concern and forecasted flat shipments for 2016.

Founded in 1933, CEMA is the trade association of leading conveyor equipment manufacturers and engineering firms in The Americas.

CEMA also makes available to member and nonmember companies, safety labels for all types of conveyor equipment as well as useful technical information and manuals. For example, CEMA has available for purchase, Belt Conveyors for Bulk Materials 7th Edition – “The Belt Book” and the CEMA Application Guide for Unit Handling Conveyors 2nd Edition – “The Unit Book”. These books are authoritative technical manuals for conveyor design worldwide.

Read more: Conveying Equipment Orders up $860 Million in 2015