U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers ordered $583.4 million worth of new capital equipment - “manufacturing technology” - during May 2026, slightly less (-1.8%) than during April but 47.8% more than the order volume for May 2025. It raises the year-to-date new order volume to $2.77 billion, 31.9% higher than the January-May 2025 total.

In terms of unit sales, the new orders for May represent 1,922 metal-cutting and metal-forming machines recorded by AMT - the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology in the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report, up 2.6% from April and up 26.2% from May 2025.

Manufacturing technology, or metal-cutting and metal-forming machinery, represents the basic capital spending decisions of industrial business across the U.S. economy, and new orders of those machines serve as an indicator of future manufacturing activity as businesses prepare for future demand. AMT’s USMTO report documents the monthly totals for new-order values and machine units for metal-cutting and metal-forming machinery, nationwide and in six regions. 

Allowing for general economic uncertainty among businesses and consumers (principally due to the ongoing U.S. war with Iran, and the doubts it projects over energy costs), AMT reported that “investments in manufacturing technology signal that manufacturers expect to need additional productive capacity to meet growing demands on output.

“Unit orders continue to grow at a pace below that of order value growth,” AMT continued. “Some of this trend can be attributed to normal market forces that affect pricing; however, a far larger share is due to the growing demand for automation as firms attempt to increase output to match stronger demand projections amid nearly half a million current manufacturing job openings.”

AMT identified that recent increases in order activity is mainly driven by aerospace sector demand, including emerging requirements for manufacturing capacity dedicated to space programs.

Orders by contract machine shops (i.e., “job shops”) continued a six-month downward trend, and the order total in May was “10% below the average of the three prior months,” according to AMT.

The better news is that May manufacturing technology new orders for industrial machinery production hit the highest value recorded since November 2017. “This build-up in capacity could foreshadow an upside surprise to business investment in the coming GDP prints,” AMT observed.

Regionally, May new orders rose in the Southeast (+57.9% from April), Northeast (+16.7%), and North Central-West (+9.0%), but also fell by double digits in the West (-26.8% from April) and North Central-East (-15.9%.)

The year-over-year order values for May are up significantly in the West (+70.3% from May 2025), Northeast (+36.3%), North Central-West (+30.6%), Southeast (+27.3%), and South Central (+21.4%.)