May 2024 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $214.4 million, according to the latest Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) published by the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT)

That total was down 0.1% from April 2024 but grew by 1.8% over May 2023. Year-to-date shipments totaled $1.06 billion, representing a 4% increase compared to shipments in the first five months of 2023.

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.

“May’s results indicate that production levels remain strong, but I think the historically high numbers can be somewhat attributed to inflation,” said Jack Burley, Chairman of AMT’S Cutting Tool Product Group. “Backlogs are coming down, and most job shops are no longer working overtime, but they’re still dependent on the core customer base they support. A side benefit is that shops now have time to test new products and work on process improvement rather than focusing on hitting their shipments every week.”

Alan Richter, Editor-at-Large of Cutting Tool Engineering, commented, “Through May 2024, shipments of cutting tools continued to show a slight increase in the year-to-date percentage. However, the near-flat growth in recent months is partly due to the challenges faced by aerospace and defense manufacturers. Like most manufacturers, they have needed to overcome supply chain snags, longer lead times and a shortage of skilled workers, even while demand for their products is relatively strong as geopolitical instability unfortunately frows and the demand for global air travel climbs.”

The CTMR 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 what they tout as the primary consumable in the manufacturing process — the cutting tool.

The graph below includes the 12-month moving average for the durable goods shipments and cutting tool orders. These values are calculated by taking the average of the most recent 12 months and plotting them over time. Click on the images for a larger version.