Machine Tool Orders Set Record + $2.3B Pharma Campus | IndustrialSage Headlines Ep. 31

Power generation equipment makers outspent the auto industry on factory machinery in the first half of 2026. That single data point explains most of IndustrialSage Headlines Ep. 31. Manufacturers ordered $3.44 billion of machine tools over those six months, the strongest half-year since tracking began in 1998. They ordered 2.6 percent fewer machines to do it. Meanwhile, three companies committed to new US plants that will not open until 2030. Nobody signs a lease like that for a quarter.

What IndustrialSage Headlines Ep. 31 Signals for Manufacturers

Three patterns run through the five stories below. First of all, the record order book is not a demand story alone. Rather, it is an automation story. Order value climbed 36 percent while unit count fell. In practice, buyers are specifying robotic load and unload, pallet systems, and integrated vision onto more sophisticated machines.

Second, electrical capacity has become the gating factor on industrial growth. Siemens is adding 1,400 jobs to build distribution hardware. Likewise, turbine and engine makers are outspending automotive on machine tools. Together, both facts point at the same constraint, which is getting power to the load.

Third, the timelines are long and the commitments are firm. A campus completing around 2030 is a decade-scale bet. So is a plant that takes three years to build. Our US Manufacturing Investment Tracker follows announced private-sector commitments across the country. Use it for a broader view of where this capital is going.

Manufacturing Technology Orders Set a Half-Year Record

In truth, the record itself is not the interesting part. Manufacturers ordered 2.6 percent fewer machines in the first half of 2026 and still spent 36 percent more. New orders of metalworking machinery totaled $672.7 million in June 2026, according to the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report published by AMT, The Association For Manufacturing Technology. Orders rose 15.6 percent from May and 56.8 percent from June 2025.

June capped a first half of $3.44 billion. That marks a 36.0 percent increase over the same period in 2025. Consequently, it was the strongest half-year on record for metalworking machinery order value. AMT then revised its full-year outlook upward. The association now projects the year to finish near $7 billion.

Metric	Value	Change
June 2026 orders	$672.7 million	+15.6% vs. May 2026
June 2026 vs. June 2025	$672.7 million	+56.8% year over year
First half 2026 total	$3.44 billion	+36.0% vs. H1 2025
Machines ordered	Unit count	2.6% below H2 2025
Revised full-year forecast	Near $7 billion	Raised from a flat outlook

Why Power Generation Now Outspends Automotive

Makers of engines, turbines, and power transmission equipment accelerated their orders. Specifically, they are serving electricity demand created by newly built AI infrastructure. As a result, power generation and distribution manufacturers outspent automotive by 14 percent. That comparison covers the first half of 2026.

Aerospace also contributed heavily, because commercial backlogs pushed suppliers to add capacity. Notably, capital equipment decisions typically get made twelve to eighteen months ahead of delivery. These orders were therefore committed while tariff uncertainty still dominated the trade press. Still, manufacturers kept buying.

Bristol Myers Squibb’s $2.3 Billion Houston Manufacturing Campus

Pharmaceutical reshoring now has a physical address in Houston. Specifically, Bristol Myers Squibb will invest approximately $2.3 billion in a new manufacturing campus there. The 600,000 square foot site sits at Generation Park in the northeast of the city. The company announced the project on August 10, 2026, and it expects to create nearly 500 skilled permanent jobs. In addition, construction will generate roughly 2,000 more jobs between 2027 and 2030.

The site will produce small molecules, biologics, and antibody-drug conjugates. Specifically, it covers drug product and finished goods manufacturing. A modular design also lets the company add or change capabilities as its portfolio shifts. BMS selected Houston after a competitive review of several central and eastern U.S. markets. The company cited the region’s life sciences workforce, infrastructure, available incentives, and business climate.

This investment reflects our confidence in America’s continued leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation.

Christopher Boerner, Ph.D., Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Bristol Myers Squibb

The campus advances the company’s $40 billion commitment to American innovation, manufacturing and economic growth. Generation Park also hosts an announced $6.5 billion Eli Lilly pharmaceutical plant. As a result, the complex holds one of the densest concentrations of new domestic pharmaceutical capacity in the country.

Detail	Figure
Investment	Approximately $2.3 billion
Size	Approximately 600,000 square feet
Location	Generation Park, northeast Houston, Texas
Permanent jobs	Nearly 500
Construction and indirect jobs	Approximately 2,000 across 2027 to 2030
Products	Small molecules, biologics, antibody-drug conjugates

Siemens Adds 1,400 Jobs in Jackson County, Georgia

Switchgear, breakers, and distribution hardware have become one of the tightest bottlenecks in the data center buildout. Accordingly, Siemens is spending at least $185 million to widen it. The plant covers roughly 550,000 square feet at 580 Raco Parkway in Jackson County, Georgia, near Pendergrass, about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. The Office of Governor Brian Kemp announced the project on August 7, 2026. Moreover, the facility will employ more than 1,400 people. That ranks among the larger single-site job commitments in Georgia in 2026.

Once complete, the plant will build low-voltage electrical components for power distribution. Siemens expects construction to begin in November 2026. Full buildout should take roughly three years, with hiring starting in 2027.

Georgia was a natural choice for our next manufacturing investment.

Barry Powell, North America President, Siemens Electrical Products

Governor Kemp framed the decision in trade terms. He called it “another testament to the strong economic partnership between our state and Germany.” However, one caveat belongs on the record. The project remains pending final approvals, and incentive negotiations were still active at announcement. Siemens already employs more than 1,700 people in Georgia across two plants and six offices. Also, it operates 25 manufacturing sites in the United States.

Detail	Figure
Investment	At least $185 million
Size	Approximately 550,000 square feet
Location	580 Raco Parkway, Jackson County, Georgia
Jobs	More than 1,400
Product	Low-voltage electrical components for power distribution
Timeline	Construction begins November 2026, hiring from 2027

Joby Aviation Brings eVTOL Manufacturing to North Texas

Texas gains its first significant eVTOL manufacturer, and the deal arrives with no investment figure attached. Joby Aviation signed a lease for 45,000 square feet at the Alliance Air Trade Center in Haslet. That building is part of Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. An eVTOL is an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. In practice, it is an electric air taxi that lifts off like a helicopter and cruises like a plane. Joby announced the hub on August 6, 2026.

The lease sits inside Hillwood’s 27,000 acre AllianceTexas development. Consequently, Joby gains access to multimodal transportation infrastructure and a large regional aerospace workforce. Furthermore, the site will support future air taxi operations across the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Those flights fall under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.

Joby disclosed neither an investment figure nor a job count. Therefore, the announcement reads as a strategic foothold rather than a capacity commitment. Even so, the location choice is deliberate. You can read the company’s own announcement on the Joby Aviation investor relations site.

IMTS 2026 Preview With AMT’s Kevin Bowers

The final segment steps away from the news desk. Kevin Bowers, Vice President of Research at AMT, joins Danny Gonzales to preview IMTS 2026. The show runs September 14 to 19 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Also, IndustrialSage will be on the floor all week as an official media partner.

The pairing with the first story is deliberate rather than coincidental. AMT owns and produces IMTS, and AMT also publishes the USMTO data behind that record order book. In other words, the organization measuring the orders also runs the show. Indeed, much of that equipment gets sold there.

Notably, Bowers brings more than twenty years across the machine tool industry. His background includes technical sales management at SNK and sales leadership at DMG Mori. Before that, he directed field service research at TSIA.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did IndustrialSage Headlines Ep. 31 cover?

IndustrialSage Headlines Ep. 31 covered five stories. Manufacturing technology orders set a first-half record of $3.44 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb committed $2.3 billion to a Houston campus. Siemens announced a $185 million Georgia plant. Joby Aviation opened an eVTOL hub in North Texas. Finally, Kevin Bowers of AMT previewed IMTS 2026.

How much were U.S. manufacturing technology orders in June 2026?

New orders of metalworking machinery totaled $672.7 million in June 2026. That is up 15.6 percent from May 2026 and up 56.8 percent from June 2025.

Why were first-half 2026 machine tool orders a record?

First-half orders reached $3.44 billion, up 36.0 percent from the first half of 2025. Consequently, it was the strongest half-year for metalworking machinery order value on record. AMT has collected USMTO data since 1998.

Why did order value rise while the number of machines fell?

Manufacturers ordered 2.6 percent fewer machines in the first half of 2026 than in the second half of 2025, yet spent 36 percent more. AMT attributes the gap to automation content specified onto each machine, including robotic load and unload, pallet systems, and integrated vision.

Where is Bristol Myers Squibb building its new manufacturing campus?

The company is building a 600,000 square foot campus at Generation Park in northeast Houston, Texas. The $2.3 billion project will create nearly 500 permanent jobs. In addition, about 2,000 construction and indirect jobs run between 2027 and 2030.

What will the Siemens plant in Jackson County, Georgia produce?

The plant will produce low-voltage electrical components for power distribution. Siemens is investing at least $185 million in the roughly 550,000 square foot facility. Moreover, the plant expects to employ more than 1,400 people, with construction beginning in November 2026.

What is an eVTOL, and why does Joby’s Texas lease matter?

An eVTOL is an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, essentially an electric air taxi. Joby’s 45,000 square foot lease sits at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. Notably, it is the first significant eVTOL manufacturing presence in Texas.

When and where is IMTS 2026?

IMTS 2026 runs September 14 to 19, 2026 at McCormick Place in Chicago. IndustrialSage is attending as an official media partner. Also, the team will publish coverage from the show floor all week.

The Bottom Line

Manufacturers bought capacity in the first half of 2026 at a rate the data has not recorded since 1998, and they kept buying through genuine trade uncertainty. For more on these stories, visit our manufacturing and industrial news section, or catch up on Episode 30 and Episode 29.