June 2021 US cutting tool orders up 20.5%

June 2021 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $172.1 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 up 7.1% from May's $160.7 million and up 20.5% when compared with the $142.9 million reported for June 2020. With a year-to-date total of $974.7 million, 2021 is up 1.8% when compared to June 2020.

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, “The cutting tool market resumed its upward march in June. The 12-month moving average improvement is in a healthy range. The cutting tool market continues to experience short-term volatility from a variety of factors, but the overall trend remains positive. Our companies are planning for continued growth as projected by our market economists.”

Eli Lustgarten, president of ESL Consultants, comments, “The U.S. economy has fully recovered from its short recession and is entering second half of 2021 in boom conditions. U.S. manufacturing is a key driver with the ISM index (59.5) at very high levels. We expect that the recovery of cutting tool demand should continue through the remainder of 2021 and well into next year. The pandemic is under better control, as the U.S. has learned to live with it; the Delta variant may not have a big impact in the U.S. unless more drastic restrictions are implemented. There is likely to be a larger impact abroad (especially Asia) reflecting the weaker vaccination status.”