Cutting Tool Orders Up in June

June U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $175.35 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI; Cleveland, OH) and AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA). This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration, was up 5.8 percent from May’s $165.68 million and down 7.1 percent when compared with the total of $188.69 million reported for June 2015. With a year-to-date total of $1,030.80 million, 2016 is down 8.8 percent when compared with 2015.

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. “Certainly seeing a jump in shipments between May and June is welcome news but we saw this same event last year only to be disappointed again by July shipments,” states Steve Stokey, the president of USCTI. “All indicators continue to point to a weak outlook as we search for a bottom to the current trend.”

“U.S. manufacturing continues facing strong headwinds due in part to a slowly expanding economy and a relatively strong value of the U.S. dollar,” stated Bill Strauss, the senior economist and advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago, IL. “The auto industry continues to out-perform and appears to be more resilient to these headwinds, while machinery and metal producers have struggled, although it appears that even these sectors may be at a nascent stage of recovery.”

The 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.

Historical data for the CMTR is available dating back to January 2012. This collaboration of AMT and USCTI is the first step in the two associations working together to promote and support U.S.-based manufacturers of cutting tool technology.

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