July U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $177.5 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 (CTMR) collaboration, was down 6% from June’s total and down 5.6% from July 2014.

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 the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“Caution is the condition of the month as we note the flat to declining cutting tool market performance.  Changing currency values coupled with low oil prices support these conditions, with an outlook for improvements in the fourth quarter,” says Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.

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.