October U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $198.00 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 up 13.2 percent from September’s $174.92 million and up 17.2 percent when compared with the $169.00 million reported for October 2016. With a year-to-date total of $1.835 billion, 2017 is up 8.0 percent when compared with 2016.
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 stars continue to align with consumer confidence at an all-time high. Aerospace and automotive industries continue to stay strong along with the rest of the industrial economy, which bodes well for the cutting tool industry,” said Steve Stokey, Executive Vice President and Owner of Allied Machine & Engineering Corp. “We see this with the 8.0 percent year to date increase as the year goes on, the numbers continue to improve. With this October’s 17 percent growth, it suggests that the upward trend is accelerating. This is good news for our industry as we move into 2018.”
Eli Lustgarten, President at ESL Consultants, comments that, “Cutting tool orders in October continue to support the strengthening we expect in manufacturing activity for the remainder of 2017 and through 2018. Currently, economic conditions that would support gains in manufacturing are on the upswing. Third quarter GDP growth of 3.3 percent was led by strength in business investment (up 4.7 percent) and equipment (up 10.4 percent). In addition, the ISM manufacturing index remains near 60 percent, the strongest performance since 2004, implying solid growth next year. The next wave of economic growth is likely to be led by strong global activity, including exports, while consumer spending trends reflect a maturing economy. Cutting tool demand should continue to improve next year to double-digit-levels with more to follow if pro-growth economic policies such as tax cuts and reform are adopted.”
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.