Boeing picked up a $166.8M modification on April 17 for C-17 Globemaster III landing gear spares, pushing the cumulative contract value to just over $8 billion with work running across Long Beach, San Antonio, and Robins AFB.

Raytheon won a Navy cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the SPY-6 STORM program adding subarray-level independent transmit and directional modulation, with performance split between Tewksbury, Marlborough, and Portsmouth RI.

Navy also awarded $14.7M to D. Gillette Industrial Services in Easton PA for up to 130 quick-engine-change assemblies and propeller maintenance dollies supporting E-2D and C-130 T56 engines, a classic Tier 2/3 precision machining package.

S&P Global Mobility's April update trimmed 2026 North American light vehicle production by 63,000 units and 2027 by 235,000 units, citing higher oil prices and supply chain risks from the Strait of Hormuz closure now expected to run through April.

The Fed's April 16 G.17 release showed motor vehicle and parts output fell 3.7% in March, with primary metals, machinery, and furniture all posting losses and durable manufacturing down 0.2% for the month.

Bright spot for aerospace and defense suppliers: construction supplies and defense and space equipment both grew in March, so shops with a diversified mix are absorbing the automotive softness better than dedicated auto Tier 2s.

March CPI jumped to 3.3% year-over-year, the highest since May 2024, driven by a 12.5% rise in energy costs and an 18.9% spike in gasoline as the war with Iran pushed crude prices higher and gas above $4 per gallon for the first time in over three years.

Fuel oil rose 44.2% year-over-year, which translates directly into delivery surcharges from steel service centers and higher kWh costs on power-hungry 5-axis centers and waterjets.

Core inflation ticked up only to 2.6% and used truck prices kept falling, so shops quoting work out weeks from now should isolate the energy line in their overhead buckets rather than push a blanket rate hike that sticks after fuel normalizes.

The free 2026.R2 update for active CONNECT subscribers swaps CPU verification for GPU-accelerated simulation, with Mastercam reporting a 90-minute run finishing in just over 22 minutes at equivalent accuracy for collision and material analysis.

Mastercam Copilot handles adjusting feeds and speeds across multiple operations by voice or text, supports around 200 toolpath types, and adds direct support for Blum laser tool setters across Fanuc, Siemens, Okuma, Heidenhain, Mazak, and Makino controls.

The EverPath Technology beta introduces a unified color-coded workflow for 2D, 3D, and multiaxis programming with real-time regeneration, aimed at shops trying to get junior programmers productive on 5-axis work without a year of ramp.

ISM Manufacturing PMI hit 52.7 in March, marking the third straight month of expansion after eight months of contraction LINK

Trumpf confirms TruBend 3000 press brake production line starts in Farmington CT by mid-2026 in new 55,800 sq ft Smart Factory LINK

CCMT 2026 opens tomorrow in Shanghai with 1,900+ exhibitors across 200,000 square meters covering metal cutting, forming, and automation LINK

S&P Manufacturing PMI showed backlogs declining and hiring only fractional, suggesting shops quoting aggressively may find the work before they find the labor LINK

165 new industrial manufacturing project starts in March totaled $8.6B+, led by $2B Georgia pharma plant and $1B Tennessee battery facility LINK