September 2023 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $201.4 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 down 8.1 percent from August’s $219.2 million and up 4.3 percent when compared with the $193.1 million reported for September 2022. With a year-to-date total of $1.85 billion, 2023 is up 8.1 percent when compared to the same time period in 2022.

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.

“The third quarter and September data for 2023 indicates that manufacturing output is still strong based on cutting tool data,” said Jack Burley, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.?“In some regions, however, consumption has flattened compared to 2022, while other regions have increased due to the primary mix of industries they support. Overall activity is reasonably good and should continue into the fourth quarter.”  

Alan Richter, editor-at-large of Cutting Tool Engineering, said, “Although total U.S. cutting tool consumption was down 8.1 percent in September from the previous month, the 12-month moving average continued to rise to a level last seen in November 2019 as it continues to somewhat mimic the rising 12-month durable goods moving average. Hopefully, the war in Gaza, as well as the ongoing one in Ukraine and a possible U.S. government shutdown in mid-November or further down the road, will not adversely impact future cutting tool consumption.”

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.