Industrial Machine Trader is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
Industrial Machine Trader is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
New orders for metalworking machinery in the U.S. saw a monthly decrease in July 2025, according to the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report from AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. Orders totaled $387.3 million, a 9.5% drop from June 2025. However, this figure represents a 20.1% increase compared to July 2024.
Year-to-date orders through July 2025 reached $2.91 billion, marking a 14.4% increase over the same period in 2024. The value of orders for July 2025 was nearly 20% higher than the average for a typical July, contributing to the first year-over-year total increase since April 2025. Despite this, the number of units ordered in July 2025 was over 13% below the average for July, indicating a continued flatness in unit orders. This trend, in the absence of significant machine tool inflation, suggests an ongoing emphasis on automation in current purchasing decisions.
Sector-Specific Performance:
Orders from contract machine shops in July 2025 decreased by nearly 14% from June but rose just under 10% from July 2024. This softening is noted as the first sign of weakness in orders from this major customer segment, which had shown recovery through much of 2025.
In the agricultural equipment manufacturing sector, new machinery orders have been on a declining trend since April 2025. However, future investment from this sector and its supply chain could see an increase following John Deere's announced plans for additional investments in its U.S. operations over the next decade.
Economic Outlook:
Despite widespread expectations of Federal Reserve rate reductions at its September meeting, current forecasts continue to anticipate a slowdown in industrial activity during the second half of the year. This could potentially lead to a softening in capital equipment purchases.
AMT’s 2025 MTForecast conference, scheduled for October 15-17 in Schaumburg, Illinois, will address the probability of an economic downturn and identify potential areas of opportunity for various industries into 2026.