U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers purchased $155 million worth of cutting tools during June, according to the first release of the monthly Cutting Tool Market Report by AMT – the Association for Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute, which are collaborating on the new monthly data release.
USCTI has more than 80 manufacturing companies as members, whose products include carbide tooling, drills and reamer, milling cutter, PCD and PCBN, tapping and die products, toolholders, and other tooling products.
Consumption of cutting tools fell 6.6% from May to June, based on the historical data incorporated in the initial CTMR. The current data also indicated a decline of 12.8% from June 2012 consumption.
For the first six months of 2013, shipments of cutting tools have totaled $1,014 million, a decline of 8.2% from shipments levels for January-June 2012 period.
“We didn’t expect the first half softness of 2013 as recent activity was at some of the best levels since 1998,” stated Dave Povich, president of USCTI. “What is promising is that the first half of the year outpaced the second half of 2012, and we believe manufacturing is on a modest upswing for the remainder of 2013.”
The CMTR is based on actual data reported by participating companies, who represent about 80% of the domestic market for cutting tools. AMT and USCTI are collecting monthly statistics on manufacturers’ shipments and have combined that information with overall sales figures as the basis of the Cutting Tool Market Report
Prior to the first release, the June data, the collaborators explained that as a consumable product cutting tools represent an important index of manufacturing activity involving the conversion ofraw materials into intermediate and finished goods.
"Cutting tools are an important market for AMT members to track because tooling consumption correlates strongly with manufacturing output," according to AMT’s Patrick McGibbon, vice president of Industry Intelligence and Engagement.
AMT is the source of the monthly U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report, which tracks consumption of machine tools and related products nationwide, and in six geographic sectors.
