Machine Shops NAICS 332710

Jun 18, 2026 - “Slow Quoting” Costs Shops Business

• The speed at which a machine shop can provide a prospective customer with a quote can be the difference between winning and losing the job, Modern Machine Shops reports. Despite having the equipment, expertise, and capacity to perform the work, slow quoting is causing many US machine shops to lose business to overseas competitors, according to MMS. Uptool, an AI platform optimized to accelerate the quoting process by automating administrative tasks and organizing RFQ information, can significantly reduce quote turnaround times. By accelerating the quoting process from as much as 15-20 minutes per part to just a few minutes, shops can respond faster to customers, improve win rates, and compete more effectively with suppliers in Asia. Faster quoting can help shops secure more work, improve customer service, and strengthen the competitiveness of domestic manufacturing by reducing a key bottleneck between customers and suppliers, per MMS.
• Economic activity in the manufacturing sector, a driver of demand for machine parts, expanded in March for the third straight month, following a 10-month period of contraction, according to the nation's supply executives in the latest ISM Manufacturing PMI Report. In March, the Manufacturing PMI registered 52.7%, a 0.3-percentage point increase compared to February’s reading of 52.4%. Of the five subindexes that make up the PMI, the New Orders Index indicated slower growth compared to February, the Production Index grew at a faster rate, and the Employment and Inventories indexes remained in contraction. March was the first report with supply executives citing the Iran war as a new impact to their business, along with ongoing uncertainty with US economic policy, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs.

• With many experienced machinists nearing retirement and new skilled candidates difficult to find through traditional recruiting channels, US machine shops are looking for opportunities to boost the CNC machining workforce, Modern Machine Shops reports. Educational programs to address the machining workforce shortage include: Machining AdvantEdge, a provider of free training and bootcamps that teach modeling-based machining strategies to improve productivity and programming efficiency; TechAM develops technician-engineer “technologists” who can lead advanced manufacturing initiatives, helping shops adopt automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing; MSC Collaboratory connects schools with industry tools, training, and technology to better prepare students for real shop-floor work; and lastly, Laborup, which uses AI to match employers with skilled machinists by focusing on practical shop-floor skills rather than resumes. Together, these programs help machine shops address labor shortages, build stronger training pipelines, and improve hiring and retention of CNC talent, per MMS.
• Producer prices for machine shops reached another new high in April, up 1.3% compared to a year ago, after rising 3.3% in the previous April-versus-April annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The Producer Price Index for machine shops, which has been rising steadily since mid-2021, is at a record high level due to a combination of strong demand and input cost inflation. Employment by machine shops was flat year over year in March, while the average industry wage rose 3.1% over the same period to a new high of $28.60 per hour, BLS data show. Machine shops are taking a cautious approach to hiring amid inflationary pressures.