U.S. cutting tool consumption in August totaled $219.2 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

The total — reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration — was up 16.2% from July’s $188.6 million and up 4% when compared with the $210.9 million reported for August 2022.

With a year-to-date total of $1.65 billion, 2023 is up 8.6% when compared to the same time period in 2022.

“The industry has seen some softening in recent months, but the overall cutting tool market remains positive,” said Jeff Major, president of USCTI. “Several market segments are leading the continued demand for tooling. It will be interesting to see how the automotive labor issues affect the market in the coming months.”

Costikyan Jarvis, president of Jarvis Cutting Tools, added: “The August cutting tool report shows the continued strength of the manufacturing sector. Obviously, there are some concerns, both immediate and medium term.On the immediate side, the UAW strike creates uncertainty around automotive production. On the medium-term side, where and how the higher interest rates affect production remain to be seen, and, globally, we now have two major armed conflicts. Even with these concerns, there is promise for continued improvement. There is considerable investment in infrastructure projects, and reshoring the production of many components and entire processes will drive increased cutting tool demand.”