The latest US orders data from our colleagues at AMT shows that the machine tool market is continuing its slow but steady recovery from the low point last August with the 12-month rolling trend at its highest for 11 months. In contrast, demand for cutting tools continues to slide from its high point in May 2024.
The US Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) programme tracks orders in the US market, based on the reports from participants in the survey. In the first two months of 2025 (January & February), total machine tool orders were +8.8% up on the equivalent period in 2024. The rolling 12-month total (comparing the sum of the past 12 months – March 2024 to February 2025 – with the previous 12 months) is only -0.8% lower than where it was last year.
The AMT press release notes that contract machine shops increased significantly compared to January but they remain short of the monthly rate at the end of 2024. Meanwhile, although the orders value from the aerospace sector fell sharply, the number of units was slightly higher; similarly, the orders value from electrical equipment makers was broadly flat but the number of units nearly doubled.
The US Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) tracks orders for tooling on the same basis. In the first two months of 2025, shipments were -6.7% lower than the same months of 2024 (January & February); the 12-month rolling total is only down by -2.7% but this is accelerating. This seems to stem mainly from uncertainty around tariffs, bearing in mind that this data refers to a period before the main announcements.
You can download the press releases for the two surveys from the AMT web-site at https://www.amtonline.org/topic/intelligence, with the CTMR release also published on the USCTI web-site at www.uscti.com (go to the News tab); alternatively, you can request either or both releases from MTA and we can make sure you get them when they are published each month. We have attached a set of charts tracking the rolling 12-month totals from these two surveys which you can download below.