diff --git a/util/data/new_table b/util/data/new_table
index 58ce61441..c94958c8c 100755
--- a/util/data/new_table
+++ b/util/data/new_table
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/sh
+set -e
 
 em_table=$1
 h=${2-.}