August U.S. cutting tool consumption was $161.7 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and the Association for Manufacturing Technology.
This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 1.3 percent from July’s total but down 13.2 percent from August 2012. Year-to-date shipments are $1.33 billion, which is down 7.9 percent from the same period in 2012.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CMTR program. The totals represent about 80 percent of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
“While U.S. manufacturing has demonstrated very modest growth through 2013, purchasing manager surveys point to a pickup heading towards 2014,” said Dave Povich, president of USCTI. “Cutting tool sales statistics suffered throughout the first half of the year due to some robust sales comps from 2012. These comps should turn more neutral to positive throughout the 3rd and 4th calendar quarters.”
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.