U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $136.1 million in August, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and The Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was down 33.5% when compared with the $204.7 million reported for August 2019 and down 0.2% from July’s $136.3 million. With a year-to-date total of $1.3 billion, 2020 is down 23.4% when compared with the first eight months of 2019.

According to Bret Tayne, president of USCTI, “Sales of cutting tools declined more than might have been anticipated through the summer months. However, in light of the reports of flattening growth in both manufacturing and the broader economy, these statistics are not entirely surprising.”

Eli Lustgarten, president of ESL Consultants, added: “Cutting tool orders continue to remain soft in August 2020 but appear to have found a bottom. Orders of $136M were only -0.2% below July orders of $136.3M but were still -33.5% below August 2019. Year-to-date orders remain weak at down -23.4%. The weakness is a continuation of the order decline that began in the spring of 2019, impacted by inventory liquidation, and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which virtually shut down the U.S. economy.”