US cutting tool consumption 2022 totals $2.2 billion

December 2022 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $188.4 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 3.1% from November’s $194.4 million and up 14.6% when compared with the $164.3 million reported for December 2021. With a year-to-date total of $2.2 billion, 2022 is up 10.8% when compared to the same period in 2021.

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 most of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“In January, the U.S. labor market had its best month in job hirings since 1969, and cutting tool sales remained steady,” comments Jeff Major, president of USCTI. “The consensus is that the cutting tool industry looks positive for at least the first six months of this year. Economic pressures still exist, and the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates to stave off inflation.”

Pat McGibbon, chief knowledge officer at AMT, also has a positive outlook of the industry. He says, “Don’t sweat the month-to-month declines in the past two months; the story is in the year-over-year and year-to-date double-digit increases.” He continues, “The next 12 months look bright for 2023 in tooling as record backlogs in material removal equipment orders convert into shipments and expanded capacity.”

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.