$500 Million-Plus in Manufacturing Technology Orders; the Federal Reserve Rate Hike; and More.
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Total U.S. industrial production was flat in August 2026, and the index for manufacturing decreased by 0.3 percentage points. Capacity utilization among manufacturers also decreased slightly.
For the first time in Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s tenure, the committee voted to raise interest rates by a quarter-point to a target range of 3.75% to 4.00% in a move that was all but certain after a flat CPI inflation reading last week.
Shipments of cutting tools totaled $278.1 million in July 2026. The value of shipments increased 2.8% from June 2026 and was up 29% from July 2025. Unit shipments in July remained steady from the previous month.
New orders of metalworking machinery totaled $605.8 million in July 2026, an 8% decrease from June 2026 and a 55.2% increase over July 2025. The total through the first seven months of 2026 was $4.03 billion, a 37.1% increase over the same period in 2025.
In his first address as head of the Federal Reserve, Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated the Fed’s commitment to bringing inflation back to the 2% target. He also highlighted business capital investment having its highest growth rate since 2021.
Shipments of cutting tools totaled $270.5 million in June 2026. The value of shipments increased 12.8% from May 2026 and was up 31.7% from June 2025. Year-to-date shipments totaled $1.47 billion, up 19.3% from the same period in 2025.
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