The value of June U.S. cutting tool shipments totaled $270.5 million, according to the latest Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) published Aug. 20 by the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).
That figure was up 12.8% from May and 31.7% year over year. Year-to-date shipments totaled $1.47 billion — up 19.3% from the same period in 2025. Units shipped increased moderately following a decline in May, though June was only the third-highest month for unit shipments so far in 2026.
“Through the first six months of 2026, our industry experienced significant double-digit growth,” said Mike Stokey, President of USCTI and Executive Vice President and Owner of cutting tool manufacturer Allied Machine & Engineering.
Stokey said much of that growth has resulted from sharply higher raw material prices and associated inflation. He also pointed to a recent U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security ruling that he said should help with tungsten carbide supply, adding that the outlook for the rest of 2026 remains “cautiously optimistic.”
Bret Tayne, President of cutting tool manufacturer Everede Tool Company, similarly noted that monthly year-over-year and year-to-date sales continued to increase at a double-digit pace through June, but questioned how much of the gains were attributable to higher prices versus increased unit volume.
Tayne said raw material prices appear to have leveled off in recent weeks and that the cutting tool industry remains positioned for growth over the next 10 to 12 months.
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.
