The order intake for metalworking machines, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology, amounted to a total of $437.9 million in November 2025. This represents a decrease of 19.6% compared to October 2025 and is almost equal to the orders in November 2024, with a difference of just over $2 million. The machine orders recorded by USMTO up to November 2025 totaled $4.92 billion, which is an increase of 17.8% compared to the first 11 months of 2024.
Orders for manufacturing technology tend to increase towards the end of the year as companies try to exhaust their investment budgets and maximize tax benefits. November 2025 underscored this trend while continuing the high order activity that has persisted since August. Orders in November 2025 were nearly 26% above the typical level for November, and with the exception of the previous month, November recorded the highest cumulative order value since May 2022.
While almost all customer sectors experienced a decline in November, there were also bright spots. Both contract manufacturers and aerospace manufacturers recorded only slightly lower declines in order value for machines than the overall market. Primary metal manufacturers reversed the three-month downward trend with a significant increase in orders, as North America is one of the few regions that has increased its steel and aluminum production by 2025. Industrial machinery manufacturers were also able to increase their order values, as were manufacturers specializing in molds, metalworking machines, and specialized tools and molds. These additional capacity expansions at the end of 2025 could indicate an impending increase in production activity throughout 2026.
Despite the decline in order value in November 2025, the market for metalworking machines remains at a solid level. Even without the figures for December, orders since the beginning of the year are nearly 5% above those for the entire year of 2024. While tax incentives and loose financing conditions could spur additional investments in manufacturing technology, a resurgence of geopolitical unrest and growing uncertainty could hinder this promising path.
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