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Shrinking Imports and Continued Consumer Demand Fuel GDP Jump in Q2

Jul 30, 2025

Mclean, Va. (July 30, 2025) — Today, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released their advanced estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2025. Real GDP increased by 3.0% on an annualized basis, driven by a sharp reduction in imports. An outsized increase in imports resulted in a negative GDP print for first quarter of 2025.

“Investment in new equipment was up nearly 5% which is consistent with the rising demand for machinery AMT members have been reporting for the first half of the year,” said Christopher Chidzik, principal economist of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “While the decrease in imports helped bolster GDP in the second quarter, goods exports were also down. Continued demand for durable goods from domestic consumers along with a robust export market could drive the demand for additional metalworking machinery in the second half of 2025.”

To see how the economic drivers that contributed to a strong second quarter GDP will affect manufacturing technology orders for the remainder of the year, tune into AMT’s Summer Economic Update Webinar on Thursday, August 7 at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

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Kristin Bartschi
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