diff --git a/numpy/distutils/msvc9compiler.py b/numpy/distutils/msvc9compiler.py
index 58af9042f2f7..8d0c92ed3dd6 100644
--- a/numpy/distutils/msvc9compiler.py
+++ b/numpy/distutils/msvc9compiler.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 import os
 from distutils.msvc9compiler import MSVCCompiler as _MSVCCompiler
 
+from .system_info import platform_bits
+
 
 def _merge(old, new):
     """Concatenate two environment paths avoiding repeats.