New orders for metal cutting, forming and fabricating machinery (manufacturing technology) totaled $429.4 million in June, posting a monthly increase following a decline in May, according to the Association for Manufacturing Technology’s monthly Manufacturing Technology Orders Report (USMTO).

That June total jumped 9.1% from May and marked a 7.7% increase year-over-year. May posted an 11.8% monthly decline.

In the Store: MDM’s U.S. MRO Market Trends Report 

Year-to-date, orders placed through June totaled $2.52 billion, up 13.7% from a year earlier.

The USMTO noted that order values in the first half of 2025 rose 21.2% above the annual average, while unit volumes fell 17.2%, reflecting a shift toward higher-value, automated machinery. According to the release, manufacturers are investing in automation to increase productivity amid stagnant industrial output and declining employment.

The June report also shared the following:

• Contract machine shops, the largest buyers of manufacturing technology, saw a 12% increase in order value and units in early 2025 after lagging through most of 2024. However, demand may soften as more shops report unwillingness to invest in new equipment over the next 12 months.
• The aerospace sector investment rose 6% in early 2025 to a record high, continuing momentum after exceeding $300 million in the second half of 2024. While a Boeing defense worker strike could pose risks, similar strikes in late 2024 were followed by increased investment.
• Electrical equipment manufacturers reduced machinery orders by 19% compared to early 2024, though order values remain 24% above the average. In contrast, Engine, turbine, and power transmission manufacturers increased orders by 19% year-over-year, driven by data centers adding on-site generators to supplement municipal power grids.
• Primary metal manufacturers raised orders nearly 50% from early 2024, reaching the highest level since late 2022.

MDM’s 2Q25 MarketPulse Report (store link) 

“Uncertainty has been the primary economic driver through the first half of 2025, and the first few weeks of the second half show few signs of that instability abating,” the report said. “In AMT’s Summer Economic Update Webinar on Aug. 7, Oxford Economics revised its forecast upward to show modest single-digit growth in machinery orders in 2025. While this is an improvement over their previous estimates, it implies a significant decline in order activity to erode the 13.7% growth gained through the first half of 2025.”