Cutting Tool Purchases Rose Significantly During February

April 19, 2016

U.S. manufacturers consumed $173.38 million worth of cutting tools during February, increasing by 9.3% over the January total, but still 4.0% less than the February 2015 total.

Robert Brooks

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The monthly Cutting Tool Market Report is an indicator of recent manufacturing activity, similar in its perspective to the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly index to manufacturers’ durable goods shipments.

U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers consumed $173.38 million worth of cutting tools during February, increasing significantly the value of their total from the previous month, in an indicator of improving manufacturing activity. The result is 9.3% higher than January’s cutting-tool consumption total ($158.65 million) but still 4.0% less than the total ($180.56 million) reported for February 2015.

The figures are drawn from the monthly Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR), presented jointly by the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology.

Cutting tools are the high-value consumable parts used in machine tools to shape raw material into finished or semi-finished parts, or to remove excess material from existing parts. Examples drills, countersinks, taps, milling cutters, boring bars, and indexable inserts, among others.

Because tooling needs to be replaced relatively frequently during manufacturing processes, U.S. cutting tool shipments are a good measure of overall manufacturing activity, similar to manufacturers’ shipments of durable goods.

American Machinist is an IndustryWeek companion site within Penton's Manufacturing & Supply Chain Group.

About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics, including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others. Currently, he specializes in subjects related to metal component and product design, development, and manufacturing — including castings, forgings, machined parts, and fabrications.

Brooks is a graduate of Kenyon College (B.A. English, Political Science) and Emory University (M.A. English.)