In the past week, NAM and AMT released comment on a number of recent economic issues affecting manufacturing.

Fed Continues Rate Hold Amid Rising Manufacturing Technology Demand

On May 7, released comment on the Federal Reserve holding the federal funds rate steady at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% for the third meeting in a row. In its announcement of the rate decision, the Fed cited increasing uncertainty in the economic outlook and a rising risk of higher unemployment and inflation.

“The market for manufacturing technology had a great first quarter, and despite the rising risks to inflation and unemployment cited by the Fed, the economy remains on generally stable footing,” said Christopher Chidzik, principal economist of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “Uncertainty is detrimental to consumers making large purchases and businesses making additional investment. The sooner policy paths are solidified, the sooner businesses can make additional investments in manufacturing technology to meet consumer demand.”

For more information, visit amtonline.org.

NAM’s Timmons Discusses Trump Administrations First 100 Days, Trade, and More 

In an appearance on CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange, NAM’s Jay Timmons commented on the Next 100 Days of the Trump Administration, saying, “There’s a lot of focus on the first 100 days—what’s been accomplished. I think to judge this administration, we’re going to have to really look at the next 100 days because the president has laid out so many things that are going to take a little bit of time to take effect. And manufacturers are very interested in seeing the results of tax reform legislation, regulatory rebalancing and then, of course, those 200 trade deals that the president is talking about.”

He also talked about China and trade negotiations and tax reform and manufacturing investment, on the latter of which he said, “[W]e need a comprehensive manufacturing strategy. We haven’t had one in this country for decades, and that starts with lowering the cost of doing business.”

You can watch the entirety of his interview at documents.nam.org/COMM/CNBC_Jay_04-30-2025_05.37.16.mp4. For more information, visit www.nam.org.

AMT: Latest GDP Report Shows Mixed Messages for Manufacturers

On April 30, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, also released comment on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ release of its first estimate of GDP for the first quarter of 2025. According to the estimate, GDP contracted 0.3% at an annualized rate.

“This was a report full of mixed messages,” said Christopher Chidzik, principal economist of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “The headline number was negative, but this was primarily driven by a large increase in imports. Personal consumption expenditures grew by a healthy 1.8%, driven by growth in services and non-durable goods consumption.

“Declining consumption of durable goods is a concerning sign for the manufacturing technology market, as metalworking machinery is more heavily involved in producing these products than non-durable goods. On the other hand, growth in transportation services, which rely heavily on manufactured inputs, grew modestly in the first quarter.

“We saw outsized orders for manufacturing technology, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report, in the first quarter of 2025, and this is reflected in the impressive 22.5% growth for investment in equipment. Many of our members end their fiscal year in March, so we tend to see declines in order activity at the end of Q1 and a decline in April. Depending on the size of that decline, it will tell us how much of this investment was the effect of orders being pulled forward to avoid any anticipated tariff increases.”

For more information, visit amtonline.org.