25 Maintenance Stats and Trends That Will Define a More Productive 2026

If you fix machines, manage a team, or run a plant — 2026 is going to be different. Machines are older. Parts cost more. Workers are retiring. And downtime is costing you more than ever — even if machines break less often.

You can’t fix everything. But you can fix what matters most. This article gives you the real numbers from real plants. No guesses. No hype. Just what you need to know to make better decisions in 2026.

We’ll show you:

• The stats that prove where you’re losing money
• The 7 trends you can’t ignore
• How to use your CMMS like a pro
• Simple steps to start improving right now

Key Stats You Must Know in 2026 to Supercharge Your Maintenance Game

Maintenance isn’t about being busy. It’s about being smart.

Most teams say they do preventive maintenance — but most of their time is still spent fixing things that broke. That’s expensive. And exhausting.

The machines you run are older than ever — 24 years on average. Parts cost more. Skilled workers are leaving. And the teams that win in 2026 aren’t the ones with the most tools. They’re the ones who use what they have — better.

You don’t need AI to fix a pump. But you do need to know which pump is most likely to fail — and why.

Here’s what the data says.

• 71% of teams say preventive maintenance is their main strategy.
• Only 35% spend most of their time on planned work.
• 58% of facilities spend less than half their time on scheduled maintenance.
• Predictive maintenance dropped from 30% in 2024 to 27% in 2025.
• Predictive maintenance can cut costs by up to 25% and boost uptime by 10–20%.
• 74% of teams saw the same or less unplanned downtime in 2025.
• But 31% said downtime costs went up.
• 55% of teams say rising part prices are the #1 reason costs are rising.
• Unplanned downtime costs the average large plant $253 million per year.
• The cost of one hour of downtime has doubled since 2019.
• The average facility has 25 unplanned breakdowns every month.
• That’s 326 hours of lost production every year.
• It now takes 81 minutes to fix a broken machine — up from 49 minutes in 2019.
• The average age of industrial machines is 24 years — the oldest in nearly 70 years.
• 88% of plants outsource some maintenance work.
• On average, they outsource 23% of all tasks.
• 45% of maintenance leaders say lack of people is their biggest problem.
• 69% of maintenance workers are 50 or older.
• 40% of the entire manufacturing workforce will retire by 2030.
• 32% of teams have started using AI in maintenance.
• 65% plan to use AI by the end of 2026.
• The top reason AI projects fail? Lack of skills (24%) and budget (25%).
• 39% of leaders say the best use of AI is saving how senior techs fix things — not predicting failures.
• Only 59% of facilities use a CMMS.

7 Key Trends of Maintenance Management That Need to Be on Your Radar in 2026

These aren’t guesses. These are what’s happening in plants right now.

If you’re not watching these, you’re falling behind.

• AI is popular — but not many are using it right.
  65% plan to use AI by 2026. But only 32% are using it now. The teams that win won’t be the ones with the fanciest AI. They’ll be the ones who use it to save knowledge or cut repair time.
• Maintenance is now seen as a profit center — not a cost.
  32% of managers expect to hire more people. 31% expect bigger budgets. Leaders are finally seeing that fixing machines = keeping customers happy = making money.
• You have too much data — but not enough action.
  35% use sensors. 41% are testing them. But if your sensors don’t send alerts to your work orders, the data is useless. Fix the link — don’t add more sensors.
• It’s not how often machines break — it’s how much it costs when they do.
  Downtime is down. But costs are up. Why? Aging machines. High parts prices. Focus on the 10–20% of machines that cause 80% of your losses.
• Your best tech is retiring. And you’re losing their knowledge.
  69% of workers are 50+. When they leave, you lose how to fix that old pump, that noisy motor, that weird vibration. Write it down. Record it. Put it in your system.
• CMMS is no longer optional — it’s your control center.
  Only 59% use one. If you’re still using paper, emails, or Excel — you’re wasting time. Your CMMS should be where every repair, part, and task lives.
• Preventive schedules are outdated.
  “Check every 500 hours” doesn’t work if the machine runs 100 hours a week in summer and 20 in winter. Use real usage — not a calendar — to decide when to service.

Tips to Learn and Use These Insights for Maintenance Management Planning in 2026

You don’t need a big plan. You need a first step.

Start small. Prove it works. Then grow.

• Pick one machine that breaks the most. Track its downtime for 30 days.
• Write down how your best tech fixes it — step by step. Put it in your CMMS.
• Use your CMMS for every work order — no paper, no emails.
• Train one technician to use the mobile app. Let them scan barcodes and log repairs on their phone.
• Look at last year’s top 5 repair costs. What parts were most expensive?
• Set a goal: Cut downtime on that one machine by 15% in 90 days.
• Check your spare parts inventory. Delete anything you haven’t used in 12 months.
• Show your boss one report: “This machine cost $X in downtime last month. Fixing it proactively saved $Y.”
• Talk to your team: “What’s the one thing that slows you down every day?” Fix that first.
• Review your top 3 downtime causes every Monday morning — 10 minutes, no excuses.

How CMMS is Going to Play a Crucial Role for Maintenance Management in 2026?

Your CMMS isn’t a fancy software. It’s your team’s memory.

It remembers what was fixed, when, by whom, and with what part. It tells you which machines break most. It shows you how long repairs take. It lets techs log work from their phone.

If you’re not using it — you’re guessing.

If you’re using it for work orders only — you’re wasting it.

In 2026, the best teams use their CMMS to:

• Link sensor alerts to work orders so repairs start before the machine dies.
• Store repair videos and checklists so new techs can learn fast.
• Track part usage so you don’t run out — or buy too much.
• Show managers real numbers: “We saved $45,000 last quarter by fixing this pump before it broke.”
• Cut repair time by giving techs all the info they need — right on their phone.
• Connect with your inventory and procurement so parts arrive when needed.
• Prove your team’s value — with data, not stories.

You don’t need the most expensive system. You need to use the one you have — every day.

Summing it up

You don’t need to fix everything in 2026. You just need to fix what’s costing you the most. Start with one machine. Write down how to fix it. Track the cost. Use your CMMS. Show your boss the savings.

That’s how you win.

The teams that win in 2026 won’t be the ones with the most sensors or the fanciest AI. They’ll be the ones who stopped guessing — and started acting.

Ready to stop reacting — and start planning? – Drop  us a line at contact@terotam.com and we will help you build a simple plan that works for your team.