June U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $175.35 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 (CTMR) collaboration, was up 5.8% from May’s $165.68 million and down 7.1% when compared with the total of $188.69 million reported for June 2015. With a year-to-date total of $1,030.80 million, 2016 is down 8.8% when compared with 2015.

Steve Stokey, President of USCTI states “Certainly seeing a jump in shipments between May and June is welcome news, but we saw this same event last year only to be disappointed again by July shipments. All indicators continue to point to a weak outlook as we search for a bottom to the current trend.”

“U.S. manufacturing continues facing strong headwinds due in part to a slowly expanding economy and a relatively strong value of the U.S. dollar,” says Bill Strauss, senior economist and advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. “The auto industry continues to out-perform and appears to be more resilient to these headwinds, while machinery and metal producers have struggled, although it appears that even these sectors may be at a nascent stage of recovery.”