Manufacturing technology orders exceed $500M for 5th consecutive month
New orders of metalworking machinery totaled $605.8 million in July, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.
This was an 8.0% decrease from June and a 55.2% increase over July 2025. It's only the second time since USMTO began collecting data in 1998 that orders have exceeded half a billion dollars for five consecutive months. Through the first seven months of 2026, manufacturing technology orders totaled $4.03 billion, a 37.1% increase over orders placed through July 2025.
While the value of orders grew by over one-third, the number of units ordered through July 2026 rose just 13.0% compared with the same period in 2025. Although the market for metal cutting machinery has experienced modest inflationary pressures over the last two years, the difference between the growth rates of order value and unit volumes is largely attributable to sustained growth in demand for additional automation.
The decline in orders from June to July 2026 was driven by a pullback in investment from several customer industries, with one of the largest reductions coming from manufacturers of engines, turbines, and other power transmission equipment. For the past two years, manufacturing technology orders from this sector have exceeded the long-run average by more than 35%, as demand on electrical grids has intensified.
Despite the decline in orders from manufacturers of power generation equipment, manufacturers of the components that allow homes and businesses to utilize that power continued their capital investment.
Electrical equipment manufacturers increased orders in July 2026 to the year’s highest monthly level and the second-highest since March 2024 as they attempt to meet surging demand to update and augment the current grid infrastructure and meet increased demand from new construction, including data centers. Even in very closely related sectors, the need for manufacturing technology does not move in tandem, and there are several areas of opportunity amid a mild decline in new orders.
Manufacturers in the forging and stamping sector increased orders to the highest level since December 2012. While increased investment from forging and stamping signals the strength of the U.S. industrial sector, a more promising sign is that investment from contract machine shops is beginning to outpace the overall market. From June to July 2026, the value of orders from job shops declined by only 1.3%, and the number of units ordered increased by over 2%, indicating a growing need for additional manufacturing capacity.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
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