Manufacturers today face a constant stream of strategic questions:
Where is demand heading?
How are policy changes influencing investment?
Which technologies will shape the next phase of growth?
AMT’s Data and Research exists to help its members answer these questions with clarity, evidence, and confidence. We emphasize how data-driven insights can illuminate market dynamics and strengthen decision-making across the manufacturing technology sector.
Turning Market Questions Into Actionable Insight
A key theme of my presentation delivered at AMT’s MTForecast conference, “Answers From AMT: Using Data to Respond to Your Market Questions,” underscored that AMT’s research is not theoretical commentary but a practical tool for reducing risk and validating major initiatives. AMT members consistently seek guidance on which trends deserve attention, what peers are asking, and what questions they should be asking but sometimes overlook. By integrating a wide range of datasets – from U.S. census trade flows and U.S. Manufacturing Technology Order activity to robotics adoption metrics, M3 reports, and sector-specific indicators – to name a few – AMT enables manufacturers to understand both what is happening in the market and why it is happening.
3 Market Trends Reshaping Manufacturing
To illustrate how data can transform complex market signals into actionable insight, I highlighted three themes that AMT members are asking about most frequently. These areas – tariffs and trade policy, automation, and end-user industry sectors – show how data clarifies not only what is happening in the manufacturing market, but why it matters for planning, investment, and strategy.
1. Tariffs and Trade Policy
Tariffs and trade policy continue to shape business behavior across the industry. Data shows that companies are selectively reshoring final assembly, raising prices to offset added costs, and reevaluating their supply chains. These responses shed light on how manufacturers absorb cost pressures and where future movements in capital investment may develop.
2. Automation and Workforce Pressures
Automation remains another critical area of focus. Rising machine tool order values, increasing robotics density, and demographic pressures all signal that automation is becoming both a competitiveness strategy and a labor-force necessity. Emerging data is beginning to reveal where new automation investment is likely to accelerate.
3. End User Industry Dynamics
Sector-level analysis – particularly in aerospace, defense, and automotive – shows distinct trajectories. Aerospace continues steady multiyear growth; defense investments remain consistently strong; and automotive activity reflects a mix of EV-related spending and stable demand for legacy platforms. The data sources AMT procures for its members provide a basis for understanding sector growth estimates in many cases out to 2030.
Advancing Research Through AI and Analytics
AMT is expanding its use of AI to improve both research efficiency and lead generation. By combining AI-driven queries with enriched third-party data, AMT can help members quickly pinpoint highly targeted opportunities, such as shops with specific manufacturing capabilities. AI is also accelerating the development of AMT’s own data tools, enabling faster and more flexible code creation guided by AI-assisted development techniques.
Turning Data Into Decisions
Overall, my presentation underscored that today’s manufacturing landscape is evolving faster than ever, but no company has to navigate it alone. AMT’s Data and Research team is dedicated to helping members cut through the noise, identify the signals that matter, and make decisions anchored in real evidence – not assumptions.
Connect With AMT’s Research Team
If your organization is looking to validate a strategic move, better understand market direction, or uncover opportunities using advanced analytics, the AMT Research team is ready to help. We invite you to reach out and submit a research request.
Stay informed on the latest forecasts and outlooks at the 2026 AMT Winter Economic Forum on Jan. 30. And save the date for MTForecast 2026, which will be held on Oct. 14-16, 2026, in Schaumburg, Illinois.
