US cutting tool consumption up 7.4%

February U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $190.12 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 3.5% from January’s $183.61 million and up 8.7% when compared with the $174.98 million reported for February 2017. With a year-to-date total of $373.73 million, 2018 is up 7.4% when compared with 2017.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“February cutting tool sales show that business continues to grow, gaining 3.5% over January, a very solid start to 2018,” says Philip Kurtz, president of USCTI. “Year-over-year sales posted a 7.4% gain and it certainly looks like the trend will continue. News of tariffs and pressure on raw material prices could have an effect, but with strong market momentum it is certainly not a given that much will change. March may or may not bring winds of change, but it will for sure bring spring.”

“Orders for cutting tools have benefitted in recent months from a faster rate of business investment spending, due to recent tax cuts and renewed strength in key markets such as metals, mining and machinery,” says Mark Killion, director of U.S. Industry at Oxford Economics.

The Cutting Tool Market Report is jointly compiled by AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production and distribution of cutting tool technology and products. It provides a monthly statement on U.S. manufacturers’ consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process – the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.

Historical data for the Cutting Tool Market Report is available dating back to January 2012. This collaboration of AMT and USCTI is the first step in the two associations working together to promote and support U.S.-based manufacturers of cutting tool technology.