IMTS 2026 drew more than 90,000 registrants and 1,788 exhibiting companies, 400 of them new. Floor density reached 1.65, an all-time show record. AMT reports metalworking machinery orders of $4 billion through July, up 37%.
What the article says
IMTS 2026 drew more than 90,000 registrants to Chicago, including an estimated 15,000 students, from all 50 states and 113 countries. 1,788 companies exhibited, including 400 new exhibitors. Before the doors opened, the floor-density ratio stood at 1.42, or 142 visitors for every 100 exhibitor personnel; as the week went on it rose to 1.65, an all-time IMTS record. Metalworking machinery orders totaled $4 billion through July 2026, up 37% on the first seven months of 2025. AMT president Douglas K. Woods: “Investment is flowing into U.S. manufacturing at the same time companies are rethinking and regionalizing their supply chains.”
Why it matters at the top of the house
Trade shows are often the first line cut in a budget review. These numbers point the other way: more buyers on the floor for every exhibitor, and machinery orders rising into the show. The question for a president is not whether to be on the floor. It is what the team does with the leads in the 30 days after.
Source: IMTS, “IMTS 2026: Where Connections Become Solutions,” by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, September 2026. The Marketing Table shares the link and a note on why it matters; the article and its copyright belong to the publisher.
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