US Cutting Tool Orders Sees Improvement in September 2020

The US cutting tool consumption amounted to $156.1 million, according to the US Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total was 14.7% higher than the August’s $136.1 million and was down 20.5% compared with the $196.3 million announced for September 2019, as reported by companies which represent most of the US market for cutting tools, participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration.

AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production, and distribution of cutting tool technology and products, have jointly compiled CTMR. It provides a monthly statement on the consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process – the cutting tool, by the US manufacturers. The analysis of cutting tool consumption is an indication of both rise and decline in the US manufacturing activity, since it provides a true measure of actual levels of production.

 “Great, we have seen an improvement of sales numbers, which is a whisper to reduce the uncertainty from the 2020 year of trauma. The cutting tool industry will recover, but we all know it will take time and we must be patient. Stay focused and we will see the numbers continue to improve,” said Brad Lawton, Chairman, Cutting Tool Product Group, AMT

"The year-over-year and year-to-date percentages seem to be correcting in the right direction as of September 2020. Back in April, the ‘doom and gloom’ forecast showed the year ending down 40% and fortunately that does not seem to be the case. Many of us in the cutting tool industry also watch the machine tool orders and those numbers improved in the recent month as well. At this point we are optimistic about the fourth quarter. We are not counting on a large Christmas present but just looking for some steadiness in the market and no further shutdowns,” commented Chris Kaiser, President and CEO, Big Kaiser Precision Tooling.

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