November 2018 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $209.42 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was down 6.3% from October’s $223.46 million and up 13.2% when compared with the $184.97 million reported for November 2017. With a year-to-date total of $2.28 billion, 2018 is up 12.9% when compared with 2017.

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 the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
“November 2018 Cutting Tool Industry data continues to supports strong sales. Increasing raw material prices and skilled labor shortages have taken their toll in the short run but have not hurt the increased performance of 2018 when compared to 2017. The market continues to watch trade negotiations that have dragged into 2019, and the potential impact they could have on manufacturing,” said Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.

According to Steve Stokey, executive VP and owner of Allied Machine and Engineering and chairman of AMT board of directors, “The numbers for November are very encouraging. We are seeing the same trends from month/month that we saw in 2017. The year/year and YTD/YTD are still strong. All signs point to continued growth in 2019 but with a cautious eye on how oil prices, tariffs, and interest rates impact consumer confidence. Low unemployment continues to offer challenges to finding qualified talent. This is good news for those in the workforce.”

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.