October 2021 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $179.6 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 10.1 percent from September's $163.1million and up 11.7 percent when compared with the $160.7 million reported for October 2020. With a year-to-date total of $1.6 billion, 2021 is up 7.9 percent when compared to the same period in 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 here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

According to Bret Tayne, president of Everede Tool Company, “October sales numbers indicate that monthly and year-to-date sales in the cutting tools industry continue to grow in comparison to 2020. The expected improvement in the prospects for our industry’s customers, such as aerospace and automotive, bode well for the continuation of that trend.”

Mark Killion, Director of U.S. Industries at Oxford Economics, said, “After moving sideways over the previous two months, which were hampered by supply chain snarls, the sharp rise in October reflects strong demand from key customers, such as those making medical equipment and off-road machinery.”

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.