May U.S. cutting tool consumption was $169 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was down 3.5 percent from April and down 4.4 percent from May 2013.
The totals represent about 80 percent of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
“Overall cutting tools shipments were down in May, despite many other manufacturing indicators being positive in the same time period,” said Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “This down month should be taken in context with that other data and an upward 3-month trend.”
