Machine Tool Order Values Still Rising

U.S. machine shops’ and other manufacturers’ new orders for capital equipment totaled $488.9 million during February, 10.7% higher than the January order total and 27.4% higher than the February 2025 result. The rise in order values resumes a trend that began in the closing months of 2024 and continued through 2025.

Through two months of ordering activity for 2026, the value of new orders is $930.5 million, or 26% higher than the total for January-February 2025 according to AMT - the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology.

AMT’s monthly U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report summarizes purchasing activity for metal-cutting and metal-forming machinery, according to order value and machine units, nationwide and in six regions. The USMTO report serves as an index to future manufacturing activity, as machining operations invest in capacity to support their anticipated production activity.

As order values have rising, a simultaneous but not parallel trend has been the variance in order values from actual numbers of machines (i.e., units) ordered, a development that became recognizable in Q2 2025.  AMT explains these trends as “an increased demand for automation, shifting customer industries, and ongoing market distortions from federal policy and geopolitical disorder.”

The latest month’s report shows orders for metal-cutting machines increased by more than 200 to 1,691 units, or just over 13% from January. Metal-forming machine orders increased from 18 to 21 units during that period.

Regarding the February’s results, AMT noted that the major purchasing segment of the market - contract machine shops, or “job shops” - have increased the value of their orders by more than 25% during January-February, though the number of units they have ordered rose by only a single-digit percentage. This conflicts with the job shops’ historical pattern of increasing order values reflecting demand for more machining capacity.

Another example is the purchasing activity by manufacturers of aerospace equipment, whose orders typically indicate higher values than units, due to the specialization of their production activity. During January-February, aerospace manufacturers’ orders have been 233% above the comparable figure for 2025, and machine units ordered have been 125% higher year-over-year.

The results for regional orders were highest in the West, rising 19.7% from January to $138.0 million; the region’s year-to-date total is $253.2 million, up 53.8% from January-February 2025.

Orders fell -12.0% to $76.5 million in the North Central-West region, but total $163.5 million through two months, up 40.7% year-over-year.