Metalworking-Machinery Orders Up in August

New orders of metalworking machinery totaled $529.4 million in August 2025, a 36.2% increase from July 2025 and nearly a 45% increase from August 2024, as measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. Machinery orders placed through August 2025 totaled $3.44 billion, an 18.3% increase over the first eight months of 2024. 

Since January 1998, only 29 months have exceeded $500 million in orders, according to the report, and nearly half have been since June 2021. This underscores the strength of the manufacturing sector following the 2020 COVID recession despite high uncertainty and numerous headwinds, say AMT officials.  

While machinery orders have shown resilience through August despite several economic headwinds, there remain several sources of uncertainty which could hamper additional investment in the remainder of the year, according to AMT officials. Several infrastructure projects were shuttered after the federal government shutdown began on October 1. For those manufacturers who rely on government-funded projects, investment in additional machinery could be delayed until the reliability of those projects is assured. Additionally, note AMT officials, the inclusion of manufacturing technology in the most recently released schedule of products subject to tariff could stimy additional investment in the technology necessary to expand and improve the American industrial base. 

See also: Association for Manufacturing Technology

Technologies: Management

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