Domestic machine shops and other manufacturers purchased $171 million worth of cutting tools and related technology during March, an increase of 7.8% from the February results — but a drop of 2.5% from the March 2013 total. These figures close the year’s first quarter on an apparently strong note, roughly $486 million in total purchases for the year to date.
The figures are drawn from the latest U.S. Cutting Tool Market Report, issued jointly by the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and AMT – the Association for Manufacturing Technology. All data in the monthly reports are based on actual totals for purchases, as reported by participating companies, who represent about 80% of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
The Cutting Tool Market Report recognizes cutting tools as “primary consumable(s) in the manufacturing process,” and as such an “indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity,” and a gauge of actual production levels.
“The first quarter of 2014 closed strong for cutting tools, which was in line with some other key industry indicators,” stated Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.
“Robust machine tool orders and a moderate increase in the industrial production index for manufacturing in March are good signs for future cutting tool sales,” he added
