The order intake for metalworking machines, as measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, amounted to a total of $444.9 million in April 2025. This represents a decrease of 12.7% compared to March 2025 and an increase of nearly 40% compared to April 2024. Machine orders in 2025 totaled $1.69 billion in April, which corresponds to an increase of 17.8% compared to the first four months of 2024.
Typically, machine orders decrease by 21% in April compared to March, when order volumes are usually above average as many machine manufacturers end their fiscal year. This year's March-April decline of 12.7% represents the smallest decline since April 2022. Part of this strong demand may be attributed to the anticipation of upcoming tariffs on imported goods and an expected increase in demand for domestically produced goods and components. Despite the decline in overall manufacturing output, machine builders increased their production by 0.3% in April, continuing the upward trend that began in October 2024.
Orders for manufacturing technology from contract manufacturers showed signs of sustained demand, decreasing only 6.3% from March to April 2025; the overall market fell by more than double that. Orders from primary metal manufacturers rose to the highest level since February 2024. If the recent tariff increase on metals remains in place, orders from this sector could increase as domestic suppliers try to meet the new demand with limited available capacities. Orders from the aerospace industry fell by nearly half compared to March 2025 but remained slightly above the monthly average of 2024.
Demand sustained the industry's upward trend through April, and it may take some time for the actual effects of the recent tariff announcements to become apparent due to their irregular implementation. The recently published survey by the National Association of Manufacturers on economic outlooks showed a significant decline in respondents providing an optimistic economic forecast compared to the last survey. Despite this waning optimism, the survey also reported that capital investments are still expected to increase slightly over the next 12 months, albeit at a lower level than initially projected at the beginning of the year.
Source:
