According to the third-quarter report released by the China Machine Tool and Tool Industry Association in November 2025, the industry achieved a revenue of 764.7 billion yuan and a total profit of 24.7 billion yuan in the first nine months. This marked the end of the downward trend that had persisted since the first half of 2023. Among them, the output of metal-cutting machine tools was 642,000 units , and the output of metal-forming machine tools was 132,000 units. The value of each unit of equipment significantly increased.
According to customs data, the total import and export volume of machine tool products in the first nine months increased by 6.7% year-on-year, and the trade surplus further expanded. The export growth rate of metal processing machine tools reached 23.4%, with significant growth in exports to Russia and India; imports resumed positive growth (+0.02%), but the import of high-end CNC machine tools decreased by 13.2% year-on-year, highlighting the effect of domestic substitution.
The "14th Five-Year Plan for Advanced Manufacturing" in 2025 clearly requires breakthroughs in 12 key technologies such as precision bearings and servo drives, and the research and development expenses deduction rate for manufacturing is raised to 100%. Under the impetus of policies, leading enterprises such as Shenyang Machine Tool have increased their R&D investment to 6.8%, an increase of 3.2 percentage points compared to 2020.
The output of new energy vehicles increased by 50%, driving a significant surge in the demand for high-speed processing centers; the demand for composite material processing in the aerospace field promoted the development of ultrasonic vibration cutting machine tools; the low-altitude economy (with a market size of 1.5 trillion yuan) created new scenarios for drone structural component processing equipment. High-tech manufacturing investment increased by 12.2% in the first eight months, significantly higher than the overall manufacturing growth rate.
The three major clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Bohai Rim contributed 65% of the national output value. Jiangsu and Zhejiang formed billion-yuan industrial chains. The central and western regions are accelerating the continue of the transfer. In Hunan and Sichuan,the output value has increased by over 18% year-on-year. Chengdu focuses on aerospace-specific machine tools, while Changsha emphasizes engineering machinery supporting equipment.
Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that by 2025, the industry's unit output energy consumption will decrease by 9.3%, the application rate of dry cutting technology has increased by 18 percentage points compared to 2020, and the average energy-saving rate of high-efficiency CNC equipment exceeds 30%. The General Technology Group has launched energy-saving machine tool spindles, and green casting technology has achieved a balance between lightweighting and high rigidity of the bed.
International enterprises such as Demag Maschinenbau and Yamazaki Makino have intensified their capacity layout in China. Local enterprises enhance their voice by participating in the formulation of international standards and participating in overseas exhibitions.
Industry competition shows a "dual polarization" trend： Leading enterprises have a market share of over 27% in the high-end market, the number of specialized and innovative "little giants" enterprises has increased by 3 times compared to 2020, covering over 60 sub-process fields.