U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers’ demand for machine tools remained historically strong during July 2026, and though the $605.8 million worth of new orders recorded for the month is a drop of -8.0% from June, it is 55.2% higher than the new-order total for July 2025. According to AMT - the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology, which tracks machine tool orders in its monthly U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report, the July result represents only the second time in the 28-year history of the USMTO series “that orders have exceeded half a billion dollars for five consecutive months.”

Through seven months of activity, 2026 manufacturing technology orders total $4.03 billion, 37.1% higher than January-July 2025.

AMT also noted another continuing trend in the USMTO series: the rising value of individual machines. The YTD results show that the value of orders grew by more than 33.0%, but the number of units ordered through July is only 13.0% versus the same January-July period from last year.

“Although the market for metal cutting machinery has experienced modest inflationary pressures over the last two years, the difference between the growth rates of order value and unit volumes is largely attributable to sustained growth in demand for additional automation,” according to AMT’s summary of the new data.

The Association pointed to decreased investment from several consumer sectors to explain the drop in orders from June to July, including a drop in demand from manufacturers of engines, turbines, and other power transmission equipment. That decrease in orders was not paralleled by electrical equipment manufacturers, whose July orders hit a YTD peak for 2026, as they work to support expansion of the electrical grid and new construction of data centers.

AMT further noted the improvement in demand from contract machine shops (“job shops”), whose orders have lagged other market sectors during the past year dropped just -1.3% from June to July, while machine unit orders increased more than 2%. According to the USMTO report summary, those changes in direction indicate “a growing need for additional manufacturing capacity” by the job shops.

Each month the USMTO also tracks regional demand for new capital equipment, and July’s report found month-to-month order increases in only two of the six regions: the North Central-West reported new equipment orders up 7.4% from June, and the North Central-East’s rose (0.2%), but barely.

The year-over-year growth however is impressive in each of the six regions: In July 2026, new machine tool orders improved 91.4% versus July 2025 in the Southeast region. In the South Central, up 86.1%; Northeast, 38.6%; North Central-West, 35.7%; North Central-East, 22.3%; and in the West, 16.2%.