The order intake for metalworking machines, as measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology, amounted to a total of $493.1 million in September 2025.
This represents a decrease of 7.2% compared to August 2025, but an increase of 11% compared to September 2024. The machine orders recorded by USMTO by September 2025 totaled $3.93 billion, which is an increase of 17.3% compared to the first three quarters of 2024.
This was the highest order value for a September since 2022. It was the first time since September 2011 that orders exceeded the previous year's level when IMTS - The International Manufacturing Technology Show took place. Despite the strong growth in order values, the number of ordered units continues to grow more slowly, as September 2025 recorded the second-lowest number of ordered units since 2009. In the past, this trend has been attributed to the increased demand for automation. However, due to the ongoing government shutdown, data losses at the Bureau of Labor Statistics have obscured the underlying factors.
While total orders decreased by 7.2% from August 2025 to September, orders from contract manufacturers remained almost unchanged with a decrease of 1.6%. Despite this above-average performance, contract manufacturers continue to lag behind the market in 2025, with the value of machine orders in the first three quarters increasing by 12%, compared to a growth of 17.3% in the overall market.
Automakers increased their orders to the highest level of 2025, yet the unit numbers were at the third-lowest level of the year. Following high investments in new production lines in 2021 and 2022, there has been a general slump in orders from the automotive sector. By September 2025, orders had increased by almost 15% compared to the first three quarters of 2024, as some OEMs are retooling their production lines from electric vehicle production.
The demand for manufacturing technology has proven resilient in 2025 despite numerous economic challenges; however, the fourth quarter could become the biggest test yet. When announcing the recent interest rate cut, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell compared the lack of access to statistics due to the ongoing government shutdown to driving in fog.
The forecasts presented at AMT's annual MTForecast conference predict a slight decline in industrial activity for 2026, but whether this will impact orders for manufacturing technology throughout the remainder of 2025 remains to be seen.
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