U.S. cutting tool consumption in July totaled $189.6 million, according to a Sept. 27 news release from the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

The total was down 12.7% from June’s $217.3 million and up 4% when compared with the $182.4 million reported for July 2022. With a year-to-date total of $1.43 billion, 2023 is up 9.4% when compared to the same time period in 2022.

“July is typically a slow month due to plant shutdowns and employee vacations. This year was no exception,” said Jack Burley, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “Cutting tool consumption remains at a consistent level despite the news of declining activity in manufacturing. Automotive sales in 2023 have rebounded now that the supply chain issues have been mostly resolved. However, the recent labor dispute is likely to disrupt production for not only the big three but also for all supply chain partners, which may affect cutting tool usage later this year if it isn’t resolved quickly.”

The numbers and all data are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools, according to the report.

“While July shipments are typically down compared to June, July 2023 had the steepest decline since 2016,” said Steve Stokey, Executive Vice President and Owner of Allied Machine and Engineering. “The value of shipments through July is up nearly 10%, but unit shipments remain flat. This indicates that a good bit of the growth we are seeing is due to the lingering effects of inflation in the cutting tool market. The onset of the autoworker strike as well as continued high interest rates may cause the industry to proceed cautiously for the remainder of the year.”