Economic Performance of the Machine Tool Industry in Q1 2025
Based on the machine production data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China Customs import and export data, as well as China Machine Tool Industry Association (hereinafter referred to as “the Association”) statistical measurement data and the Association’s key contact enterprise statistics, this report summarizes the machine tool industry in the first quarter of 2025 the operation of the whole industry and the main subsectors, analyzes the characteristics of economic operation for the reference of industry enterprises. The report summarizes the operation situation of the whole industry and major sub-industries in the first quarter of 2025, and analyzes the characteristics of economic operation for the reference of industry enterprises.
01 Key Operational Indicators of the Machine Tool Industry
1. Operating income
From January to March 2025, the machine tool industry completed operating income of 229.6 billion yuan, down 4.2% year-on-year. Among the main sub-industries, all of them realized growth except abrasives.
The operating revenues of the machine tool industry and major sub-industries are detailed in Table 1.
Table 1 Operating Revenues of Machine Tool Industry and Major Sub-Industries, Jan-Mar 2025
| Indicator name | unit (of measure) | (grand) total | Metal Cutting Cutting Machines | Metal Forming Forming Machines | Machine functions Components and accessories | Cutting tools | Abrasives abrasive | (sth. or sb) else |
| revenues | billions | 2296 | 403 | 219 | 133 | 258 | 929 | 354 |
| Year-on-year increase/decrease | % | -4.2 | 15.5 | 13.3 | 0.9 | 2.7 | -18.0 | 4.5 |
2. Total profits
From January to March 2025, the machine tool industry realized a total profit of 2.9 billion yuan, down 65.7% year-on-year. Among the major sub-industries, metal cutting machine tools, metal forming machine tools and machine tool functional parts and accessories increased year-on-year.
The total profits of the machine tool industry and major sub-industries are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Total Profit of Machine Tool Industry and Major Sub-Industries, Jan-Mar 2025
| Indicator name | unit (of measure) | (grand) total | Metal Cutting Cutting Machines | Metal Forming Forming Machines | Machine functions Components and accessories | Cutting tools | Abrasives abrasive | (sth. or sb) else |
| total profit | billions | 29 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 16 | -35 | 13 |
| Year-on-year increase/decrease | % | -65.7 | 56.7 | 64.9 | 5.2 | -18.0 | -254.6 | -24.1 |
3. Profitability
From January to March 2025, the average profit margin of the machine tool industry was 1.3%, down 2.2 percentage points from a year earlier. Among the major sub-industries, metal-cutting machine tools, metal-forming machine tools and machine tool functional parts and accessories increased year-on-year.
The profitability of the machine tool industry and major sub-industries is detailed in Table 3.
Table 3 Profitability of Machine Tool Industry and Major Sub-Industries, January-March 2025
| Indicator name | unit (of measure) | (grand) total | Metal Cutting Cutting Machines | Metal Forming Forming Machines | Machine functions Components and accessories | Cutting tools | Abrasives abrasive | (sth. or sb) else |
| profitability | % | 1.3 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 6.4 | -3.8 | 3.5 |
| Year-on-year increase/decrease | percentage point | -2.2 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | -1.6 | -5.8 | -1.3 |
4. Metalworking machine tool production
Statistics of above-scale enterprises released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the output of metal cutting machine tools in January-March 2025 amounted to 182,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%; the output of metal forming machine tools amounted to 4.0 million units, a year-on-year increase of 14.3%. The output of both metal cutting machine tools and metal forming machine tools continued the growth trend of the previous year, and the growth rate has expanded.
02 Import and Export Indicators
1. General information
From January to March 2025, the import and export of China’s machine tool industry turned from a slight year-on-year decline in 2024 to a year-on-year increase, in which the decline in imports narrowed, the increase in exports expanded, and the trade surplus widened.
According to China Customs data, machine tool commodity import and export situation, see table 4.
Table 4 Import and Export of Machine Tools Commodities, Jan-Mar 2025
| Indicator name | unit (of measure) | Total imports and exports | Of which: imports | exportation | trade balance |
| sum of money | billions of dollars | 77.0 | 23.7 | 53.2 | 29.5 |
| Year-on-year increase/decrease | % | 2.1 | -5.6 | 5.9 | 17.5 |
Cumulative imports and exports of the main commodity categories of machine tools are detailed in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 1 Cumulative imports of machine tool and tool products (in billions of dollars)
Figure 2 Cumulative exports of machine tool and tool products (in billions of dollars)
2. Import and export of metalworking machine tools
January-March 2025, Metal Processing machine tools import and export maintained a trade surplus, of which imports declined, exports grew, and the amount of surplus widened.
According to China Customs data, the import and export situation of metal working machine tools, see Table 5.
Table 5 Import and Export of Metalworking Machine Tools, Jan-Mar 2025
| Diethylammonium chloride | inlet | exportation | trade balance | ||
| Amount (billions of dollars) | Year-on-year (%) | Amount (billions of dollars) | Year-on-year (%) | Amount (billions of dollars) | |
| Metalworking Machines | 12.8 | -8.9 | 22.1 | 15.2 | 9.2 |
| Of which: Metal cutting machine tools | 11.4 | -6.7 | 14.1 | 7.1 | 2.7 |
| Metal Forming Machines | 1.4 | -23.1 | 8.0 | 32.8 | 6.5 |
(1) Import amount ranked the top five varieties of metal processing machine tools
The top five imported varieties of metalworking machine tools and their import value in January-March 2025, are shown in Table 6 for details.
Table 6 Top five varieties of metalworking machine tools in terms of import value, January-March 2025
| rankings | Variety of Metalworking Machine Tools | Amount of imports (billions of dollars) | Year-on-year (%) | Percentage of (%) |
| 1 | machining center | 4.3 | -6.4 | 33.8 |
| 2 | Special Machines | 2.4 | 17.7 | 18.6 |
| 3 | grinder | 1.7 | -28.5 | 13.2 |
| 4 | Gear processing machines | 1.3 | 9.1 | 10.5 |
| 5 | lathe | 0.8 | -38.8 | 6.4 |
(2) The top five types of metalworking machine tools in terms of export value
The top five exported varieties of metalworking machine tools and their export value in January-March 2025, are shown in Table 7 for details.
Table 7 Top five varieties of metalworking machine tools in terms of export value, Jan-Mar 2025
| rankings | Variety of Metalworking Machine Tools | Export amount (billions of dollars) | Year-on-year (%) | Percentage (%) |
| 1 | Special Machines | 5.7 | 7.5 | 25.7 |
| 2 | machining center | 2.7 | 39.7 | 12.1 |
| 3 | Metal cold working presses | 2.2 | 81.0 | 9.9 |
| 4 | Forming and bending machines | 1.9 | 11.1 | 8.6 |
| 5 | lathe | 1.8 | -19.6 | 8.2 |
03 Operational Indicators of the Association’s Key Contact Enterprises
The key contact enterprises of the Association refer to the member enterprises that report operational data to the Association on a monthly basis.
1. Main economic indicators
In January-March 2025, the business revenue of key contact companies increased by 9.5% year-on-year. Total profit decreased by 4.3% year-on-year. The percentage of loss-making enterprises was 33.8%. The production and output value of metal processing machine tools increased by 8.4% and 16.2% year-on-year respectively. Among them, the production of metal cutting machine tools, output value increased by 6.3%, 6.8% year-on-year; metal forming machine tools production, output value increased by 17.5%, 40.7% year-on-year.
2. Indicators of orders for metalworking machine tools
In January-March 2025, new orders for metal processing machine tools, orders on hand increased by 22.7%, 20.2% year-on-year. Among them, new orders for metal cutting machine tools, orders on hand year-on-year growth of 8.6%, 13.0%; metal forming machine tools new orders, orders on hand year-on-year growth of 56.2%, 33.8%.
04 2025 Q1 Industry Operating Characteristics
1. Macro-policy pulling effect gradually appeared, the overall revenue was restored to the good situation
In the first quarter of this year, a series of national growth stabilization policies of the pulling effect gradually appeared, the machine tool market demand rebound, the industry is running back to a good trend. Overall operating income is still in the decline range, but the rate of decline narrowed compared with the previous year. The main sub-industry, in addition to abrasives, other sub-industries have grown, metal cutting machine tools and metal forming machine tools sub-industry growth rate of more than 10%. From the association’s key contact enterprise order data, metal cutting machine tools and metal forming machine tools, new orders and orders on hand to maintain growth, and the growth rate than the previous year’s full expansion.
2. Overall industry margins remain low, but most sub-sectors have returned to growth
In the first quarter, the overall profitability of the machine tool industry is still low, the association key contact enterprises in the loss-making enterprises accounted for more than 30%, but metal cutting machine tools, metal forming machine tools, machine tool functional parts and accessories sub-industry profitability has been restored growth.
3. Exports maintain growth, but uncertainty grows
China’s machine tool products continue to improve the level of technology, the competitiveness of the international market continues to grow. In the case of increased impact of external shocks, exports continued to grow in the first quarter, and the growth rate expanded. At the same time, affected by domestic substitution and other factors, imports continued to decline. Total imports and exports ended two consecutive years of decline, resumed growth.
Despite the recent breakthrough in the U.S.-China economic and trade talks and other positive factors, but the current uncertainty in the international market is still strong, the increase in non-tariff trade barriers such as sanctions against machine tool enterprises, machine tool exports constitute new difficulties and obstacles.
4. Abrasives industry is still not out of the downward channel
Due to the large number of applications of abrasives real estate, steel, refractories and other downstream industries continue to be downturn and other factors, the abrasives market since the first quarter of this year is still in a downward channel, the sub-industry’s main economic indicators have declined significantly.