New U.S. orders for metal cutting, forming and fabrication machinery (manufacturing technology) totaled $814.3 million in December — representing the highest monthly order value on record from the Association for Manufacturing Technology’s (AMT) Manufacturing Technology Orders Report (USMTO).
The December orders mark soared 86.7% over November and 59.9% year-over-year.
The order value’s year-to-date total had already eclipsed 2024’s by the end of November by 5.1%, and December’s data pushed that up to a 22.5% annual increase with a final 2025 total of $5.74 billion.
The December USMTO report detailed that while demand for manufacturing technology quickly rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic by growing by more than half in 2021, it was followed by three years of decline, bottoming out in the summer of 2024. It began to recover in September 2024 on the heels of IMTS and amplified in 2025 by a lower interest rates, reduced tariff uncertainty after a May-August slump and favorable tax provisions for capital investment.
The December USMTO report emphasized the following points:
- Orders from contract machine shops — the largest customer of manufacturing technology — grew 19.1% in 2025. Its underperformance vs. the 22.5% total market growth has contributed to the growing divergence between dollar value and unit trends.
- Orders from aerospace manufacturers jumped 45.1% in 2025, with that sector typically purchasing high-value machinery that drives dollar-value growth without moving the needle on units as much as other customer industries
- Auto manufacturing orders increased 22.2%, driven by retooling of production lines following pivots to and from electric vehicle production over the past several years
- The fastest-growing industry in 2025 was commercial and service machinery with a 121.5% surge vs. 2024, helped by demand for inspection equipment heavily used in chip fabs
These additional capacity additions late in 2025 may signal a coming surge of manufacturing activity throughout 2026, AMT said, with single-digit annual growth expected on strength of demand for AP capacity, increased steel production and machinery for primary metal production.
“Machinery ordered in 2025 will begin to hit shop floors throughout the first quarter of 2026 and, combined with increased levels of industrial activity, are expected to push cutting tool consumption up nearly 5% in 2026,” the report said.
