McLean, Va. (June 18, 2025) — The Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate steady at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% for the fourth meeting in a row. In its announcement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cited the need to keep policy rates modestly restrictive to address a meaningful amount of inflation projected over the coming months.
The median forecast for 2025 GDP growth from members of the Federal Open Market Committee was downgraded again this quarter to 1.4%, below the committee’s estimate of the long-term trend released in March. Forecasts for unemployment expanded slightly to 4.5%, and projections for inflation reached 3% through 2025.
“With the Federal Reserve acknowledging that the economy is very near mainstream estimates of maximum employment, the deployment of additional capital resources, including automation, will be necessary for the economy to grow meaningfully while keeping inflation expectations well anchored,” said Christopher Chidzik, principal economist of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “Further tightness in the labor markets could be the catalyst for additional investment in manufacturing technology, where orders are already up nearly 18% through April 2025.”
Registration is now open for the annual MTForecast conference, the manufacturing technology industry’s must-attend event for economic forecasts, market data analysis, and customer industry outlooks. MTForecast 2025 will be held Oct. 15-17 in Schaumburg, Illinois.
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Members of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology build and sell metalworking machinery, commonly known as machine tools, as well as the workholding, tooling, inspection equipment, and automation integral to modern manufacturing.
