March U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $171 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration, was up 7.8 percent from February’s total and down 2.5 percent from March 2013.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals actually reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent about 80 percent of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“The first quarter of 2014 closed strong for cutting tools, which was in line with some other key industry indicators,” said Brad Lawton, Chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “Robust machine tool orders and a moderate increase in the industrial production index for manufacturing in March are good signs for future cutting tool sales.”

The Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) 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.