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MONTHLY DATAMonthly Data Watch (USA)

Machine tool orders (USMTO) and cutting tool shipments are published monthly in press releases by the industry association AMT (cutting tools jointly with USCTI). Both count US domestic demand, including imports, so they look from a different angle than JMTBA and the Current Production Statistics, which count orders and production of Japanese manufacturers. The production index (the Federal Reserve Board), trade (Census) and price indices (BLS) are government statistics and use broader categories that include not only machine tools but also dies and tools.

Figures through September 2026 (as published on October 23, 2026). We show only the values for the last 24 months and the month-on-month and year-on-year changes for the latest month. The production and price indices come out in the middle of the following month, and orders, cutting tools and trade between early and late in the second month after, so everything is in place by late each month.

Each month the figures are updated, we keep a snapshot of them as an issue (latest issue: October 2026 / All issues).

Figures in this issue (latest month of each series)
SeriesLatest monthValueMonth on monthYear on year
Machine tool orders (AMT)
Order value		August 2026
Preliminary		732.9 US$ million/month+21.0%+38.4%
Cutting tool shipments (AMT, USCTI)
Shipment value		August 2026
Preliminary		278.6 US$ million/month+0.2%+32.3%
Metalworking machinery production index (Federal Reserve Board)
Production index		September 2026
Preliminary		85.4 index (2017=100)−3.4%+5.0%
Machine tool exports and imports (Census)
Exports		August 2026
Preliminary		461 US$ million/month−9.5%−9.4%
Producer price indices for cutting tools and machine tools (BLS)
Cutting tools and accessories (June 1983=100)		September 2026
Preliminary		277.8 index+1.8%+12.6%

1. Machine tool orders (AMT)August 2026 (preliminary)

Value of orders for metalworking machinery (cutting, forming and other processing machines) received from US customers by manufacturers and distributors participating in the USMTO report of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (monthly total, not seasonally adjusted). This is US domestic demand, including imported machines, and is counted differently from JMTBA's orders in Japan (orders received by Japanese manufacturers, including from overseas). Source: AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (USMTO)

Order value

732.9US$ million/month

Month on month +21.0%Year on year +38.4%

As of this issue, figures have been published only through August 2026 (a press release comes out around the second Monday two months after the reference month; earlier months' values may be revised in later releases).

02004006008001,000US$ million/month1025/1471026/1478Yellow = August 2026
Last 24 months (September 2024 – August 2026). Each month's value is the figure in the text of the press release that first announced that month (later revisions are not reflected). As a result, the month-on-month and year-on-year changes stated in the press releases (ratios between revised values) may differ slightly from the ratios calculated here
Sources by month (24)

For details, see American Machine Tool Archive, Chapter 5 (The Import Wave and Revival).

2. Cutting tool shipments (AMT, USCTI)August 2026 (preliminary)

US domestic shipments of cutting tools (monthly total, not seasonally adjusted) by tool manufacturers participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report of AMT and the US Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI). Press releases until the first half of 2024 called the same statistic “consumption.” Source: AMT, USCTI (Cutting Tool Market Report)

Shipment value

278.6US$ million/month

Month on month +0.2%Year on year +32.3%

Shipments in August 2026 were the highest in the last 24 months.

As of this issue, figures have been published only through August 2026 (a press release comes out between the middle and end of the second month after the reference month; earlier months' values may be revised in the following month's release).

0100200300US$ million/month1025/1471026/1478Yellow = August 2026
Last 24 months (September 2024 – August 2026). Each month's value is the figure in the text of the press release that first announced that month (later revisions are not reflected). As a result, the month-on-month and year-on-year changes stated in the press releases (ratios between revised values) may differ slightly from the ratios calculated here
Sources by month (24)

For details, see American Machine Tool Archive, Chapter 5 (The Import Wave and Revival).

3. Metalworking machinery production index (Federal Reserve Board)September 2026 (preliminary)

Index for metalworking machinery manufacturing (NAICS 3335: machine tools plus cutting tools and accessories, dies, jigs, rolling mill machinery and so on) within the US index of industrial production. Original series without seasonal adjustment. Source: the Federal Reserve Board (G.17 Industrial Production)

Production index

85.4index (2017=100)

Month on month −3.4%Year on year +5.0%

020406080100index (2017=100)24/1025/1471026/1479Yellow = September 2026
Last 24 months (October 2024 – September 2026).
Sources by month (1)

For details, see American Machine Tool Archive, Chapter 5 (The Import Wave and Revival).

4. Machine tool exports and imports (Census)August 2026 (preliminary)

Export and import values for End-Use category 21120 “metalworking machine tools” within US goods trade (Census basis, seasonally adjusted; this is Census's own classification, not HS, and includes both cutting and forming machine tools). Source: US Census Bureau (FT-900, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services)

Exports

461US$ million/month

Month on month −9.5%Year on year −9.4%

Imports

1,451US$ million/month

Month on month +7.9%Year on year +28.7%

As of this issue, figures have been published only through August 2026 (released with the FT-900 about 5 weeks after the reference month, early in the second month after; the previous month's values are revised every month, and the past few years around June each year).

0200400600800US$ million/month1025/1471026/1478Yellow = August 2026
Last 24 months (September 2024 – August 2026). These are seasonally adjusted values, so year-on-year changes swing less than they would in the original series
Sources by month (1)

For details, see American Machine Tool Archive, Chapter 5 (The Import Wave and Revival).

5. Producer price indices for cutting tools and machine tools (BLS)September 2026 (preliminary)

From the US producer price index (PPI, by industry): cutting tool and machine tool accessory manufacturing (NAICS 333515, June 1983=100) and machine tool manufacturing (NAICS 333517, December 2011=100). Not seasonally adjusted. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, Producer Price Index)

Cutting tools and accessories (June 1983=100)

277.8index

Month on month +1.8%Year on year +12.6%

Machine tools (December 2011=100)

142.3index

Month on month ±0.0%Year on year +3.2%

Cutting tools and accessories (June 1983=100) in September 2026 were at their highest value in the last 24 months.

0100200300index24/1025/1471026/1479Yellow = September 2026
Last 24 months (October 2024 – September 2026). The two indices have different base periods, so their levels cannot be compared with each other (compare month-on-month and year-on-year changes instead)
Sources by month (1)

For details, see American Machine Tool Archive, Chapter 5 (The Import Wave and Revival).

All issues

Data Watch

October 2026 issue

Figures through September 2026

Figures not included and why (3)

FAQ

When are the US figures updated?
The production and price indices come out in the middle of the following month, and orders, cutting tools and trade between early and late in the second month after, so everything is in place by late each month. This page is updated every month between mid-month and late in the month by re-fetching the data from the publishers' databases. In each month the figures move forward, we add one issue, and earlier issues remain available from the issue list. When later releases revise past months, we replace them with the latest values.
Can these be compared directly with Japan's figures?
Values are shown in each country's own currency and are not converted to yen. The production index is a volume index, in different units from Japan's Current Production Statistics (values). When comparing, look at the direction and size of year-on-year changes rather than the values themselves. For Japan's figures, see Monthly Data Watch (Japan).
Should I look at month-on-month or year-on-year changes?
Many of the figures are not seasonally adjusted, so month-on-month changes swing widely in months with summer holidays or the year-end break. Year-on-year changes are better for seeing which way the economy is heading. The description of each series states whether it is seasonally adjusted.