March 2025 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $207.1 million, according to the latest Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) published by the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

That total was up 4.3% from February 2025, but down 4.2% from March 2024. The monthly increase in March followed a 0.7% decline in February, while the year-over-year decline followed a longer trend.

Year-to-date, cutting tool orders in 2025’s first quarter were down 5.9% year-over-year.

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“Despite the uncertainty from Washington, it was still business as usual for most companies,” AMT Cutting Tool Product Group Chairman Jack Burley said in the May 22 news release. “However, most tooling manufacturers are either dealing with increased tariffs for products sourced abroad or increased costs for raw materials like tungsten carbide, or both. These increased costs for perishable tools are already getting passed on, resulting in a hit to the operating margins for manufacturers.”

Everede Tool Co. President Bret Tayne added: “March cutting tool sales improved over February and were at the highest level we have seen since October 2024. Despite the improvement, year-over-year sales remained below 2024 levels for the third consecutive month. Although this data precedes the ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements, I’ve anecdotally heard optimism that the current volatility will be short-lived, and modest growth will return in the second half of the year.”

The CTMR 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 what they tout as the primary consumable in the manufacturing process — the cutting tool.

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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. Click on the chart for a larger version.