The value of manufacturing machinery orders set a new record in the first half of 2026, according to the latest monthly report from the Association for Manufacturing Technology.
The most recent U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report identified $672.7 million in orders in June and a total of $3.44 billion through the first six months of the year. The June amount was up 56.8% compared to the same month of 2025, while year-to-date orders were up 36% year-over-year — the highest since the beginning of the USMTO data in 1998.
But although the value of orders was “unprecedented” for a six-month window, the actual number of machines ordered was actually down slightly from the latter half of 2025.
“While job shops represent the largest customer segment for manufacturing technology, the amount of machinery they have ordered over the last several years has lagged behind the market,” wrote AMT Principal Economist Christopher Chidzik, “as OEMs made the necessary investments to absorb increased production demands internally rather than by contracting with external job shops.”
The aerospace sector led machinery orders in the first half, while engine, turbine and power transmission equipment makers have also “been accelerating the pace of their manufacturing technology orders,” Chidzik wrote.
