According to the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute, U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $165.68 million in May, down 4.6% from April’s $173.64 million.

May’s total was down 4.1% compared to the $172.81 million recorded in May of last year. In all, with a year-to-date total of $855.45 million, consumption is down 9.1% in 2016 compared to 2015.

“The cutting tool industry continues to show negative results for month-to-month and year-to-date sales performance, which reflects the anxiety in the nation’s manufacturing industry. This condition will more than likely continue through the end of 2016,” said Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.

“While cutting tool orders contracted for the 13th month in a row, the rate of contraction has slowed down in recent months. In fact, the annual rate of change appears to have peaked and should contract at a slower rate in upcoming months,” said Steve Kline, director of Market Intelligence at Gardner Business Media. “The trend of decelerating contraction is likely to continue as interest rates remain low and durable goods new orders have grown in recent months.”