March 2021 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $177.6 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 18.8 percent from February's $149.5 million and down 2.6 percent when compared with the $182.3 million reported for March 2020. With a year-to-date total of $471.9 million, 2021 is down 14.4 percent when compared to March 2020.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
According to Brad Lawton, Chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group, “The cutting tool industry March totals are encouraging sales volumes that are nearing pre-pandemic numbers. This is supporting evidence that the market is responding, and we hopefully can put the experiences from the pandemic behind and move forward for the balance of 2021.”
“Although the 18.8 percent jump in shipments from February to March looks fantastic, it is important to remember there were three more working days in March over February,” said Steve Stokey, Executive Vice President and Owner of Allied Machine and Engineering. “If we smooth the number over the number of working days, the growth is slightly over 3 percent. This is very similar to what we saw in February over January. Although there is optimism in the market as we recover from COVID-19, there are headwinds. The chip shortage for automobiles, other supply chain issues, labor participation and government policy are creating uncertainty for the market as we move forward.”
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.