August 2020 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $136.1 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 down 0.2% from July's $136.3 million and down 33.5% when compared with the $204.7 million reported for August 2019. With a year-to-date total of $1.3 billion, 2020 is down 23.4% when compared with August 2019.
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.
According to Bret Tayne, president of USCTI, “Sales of cutting tools declined more than might have been anticipated through the summer months. However, in light of the reports of flattening growth in both manufacturing and the broader economy, these statistics are not entirely surprising.”
"Cutting tool orders continue to remain soft in August 2020 but appear to have found a bottom. Orders of $136M were only -0.2% below July orders of $136.3M but were still -33.5% below August 2019. Year-to-date orders remain weak at down -23.4%. The weakness is a continuation of the order decline that began in the spring of 2019, impacted by inventory liquidation, and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which virtually shut down the U.S. economy,” comments Eli Lustgarten, president of ESL Consultants. He later adds, “The good news is that U.S. manufacturing has now undergone over four months of improvement with the ISM PMI over 50 (Sept 2020 was 55.4) with the recovery led by automotive (largest buyer of cutting tools), appliances, electrical, and general manufacturing. Any improvement in demand will likely be moderate and volatile near-term reflecting the ongoing severe weakness in key markets such as aerospace and energy as well as uncertainty of the strength of economic growth after the big U.S. GDP rebound in Q3 2020.”
Latest from Today's Medical Developments
- ZOLLER Open House builds momentum for IMTS 2024
- HEULE's back spot facing tools
- IMTS 2024 Conference: Practical and Affordable Factory Digital Twins for SMEs
- Boulder iQ division increases chlorine dioxide sterilization capacity for medical devices
- Kays Engineering’s Eldorado gundrilling machine
- IMTS 2024 Conference: Bridging the Past and Future: Unleashing Legacy Machinery Potential in the Industry 4.0 Era
- #ANCATooloftheYear2024 – win a trip to Australia and AUD$10,000
- MC Machinery Systems’ latest technology at IMTS 2024