US Machine Tool Orders Hit Third-Highest Monthly Total on Record
New orders of metalworking machinery, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT), totaled $732.9 million in August 2026. Just one month before IMTS – the International Manufacturing Technology Show opened its doors in Chicago, orders of manufacturing technology reached the third-highest monthly total recorded. Orders in August 2026 were 21.0% above July 2026 and 36.3% above August 2025. Thus far in 2026, orders totaled $4.76 billion, a 36.9% increase in orders over the first eight months of 2025.
The current rally in manufacturing technology orders now includes six consecutive months of orders exceeding half a billion dollars, the longest such streak recorded. Since the current expansion began in September 2024, order values have grown nearly three times faster than the growth in units. The aerospace sector, which tends to purchase high-value machinery, has accounted for a growing share of total orders since prior to the current rally. Across all industries, an ever-growing share of new machinery containing added automation has further intensified order values growing faster than the growth in unit sales.
If IMTS 2024 is remembered as the beginning of the current expansion, IMTS 2026 may be remembered as the point where contract machine shop orders began to lead the market. Historically, an uptick in orders from job shops would lead to a general recovery in demand for manufacturing technology. The current expansion has largely been driven by demand from OEMs, who generally have a greater appetite for automated machinery than job shops, thereby sustaining the disparity between value and unit growth in recent years. In August 2026, growth in orders from contract machine shops exceeded overall market growth. If the resurgent demand for manufacturing technology from job shops marks the beginning of a sustained trend, order activity for the remainder of the year could exceed expectations.
For more information: www.amtonline.org
