U.S. manufacturers’ cutting-tool consumption rose to $183.61 million during January, an increase of 4.9% from December, and up 6.1% from January 2017. The results continue to demonstrate expanding manufacturing production for machine shops and similar operations, as cutting tools represent “a primary consumable in the manufacturing process,” according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology, which present the monthly Cutting Tool Market Report.
The CTMR is based on the figures reported by participating companies, and represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
“The boom in domestic and global manufacturing has continued to show positive growth for the cutting-tool industry. This is causing increasing pressure on cutting-tool capacity and raw material sourcing, but these are good problems and are welcomed by the industry,” stated Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.
In their joint release AMT and USCTI quoted an analyst who said the January results “demonstrate the ongoing improvement in manufacturing activity that continued throughout 2017.
“Sales increased 4.9% percent month-over-month in January and rose 6.1% percent over the same period a year ago,” stated Eli Lustgarten, president at ESL Consultants, “supporting our belief that the industrial sector will continue to strengthen as the year progresses.”
Lustgarten also noted that Institute for Supply Management’s February Manufacturing Index confirmed new orders and production “remain at very strong levels, building a backlog and pointing toward rising industrial production and higher capacity utilization as the year progresses. With an improving global backdrop, the cutting-tool sector is headed toward another banner year with sales gain approaching if not exceeding 10%.”
