MCLEAN, Va. — U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $187.9 million for December 2023, 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 collaboration, was down 7.3% from November’s $202.7 million and down 0.3% when compared with the $188.4 million reported for December 2022. 

With a year-to-date total of $2.45 billion, 2023 is up 6.9% when compared to the same time period in 2022. 

“With 2024 comes change and challenge,” stated Steve Boyer, president of USCTI, in a press release. “The U.S. cutting tool industry will continue to see growth opportunities in aerospace, automotive, medical, and computer related segments but slowing and declines in other markets. While forecasts initially anticipated interest rate declines as we moved into 2024, recent inflation indicators appear to temper those expectations. We enter the new year with a guarded view anticipating continued challenges and uneven growth.” 

Mark Killion, director of U.S. industries at Oxford Economics, added: “After a strong start to 2023, shipments of cutting tools weakened in the last quarter of the year, falling 7.3% in December. As a result, shipments ended the year near their 2022 levels.” 

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. 

The graph below includes the 12-month moving average for the durable goods shipments and cutting tool orders. These values are calculated by taking the average of the most recent 12 months and plotting them over time.