December U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $176 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 12.5 percent compared with December 2015 and up 4.4 percent from November.

With a year-to-date total of $2 billion, 2016 is down 4.3 percent when compared with 2015.

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

“The cutting tool market data continues to show signs of strengthening,” says Steve Stokey, president of USCTI. “There is a great deal of positive chatter in most manufacturing sectors that would indicate there are high expectations for 2017. This should drive higher demand for cutting tools.”