MCLEAN, VA — October U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $193.6 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 (CTMR) collaboration, was up 9.7 percent from September’s total and up 3.3 percent from October 2013.

These numbers and data are based on the totals actually reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent about 80 percent of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“October 2014 has given some indication that we have turned the proverbial corner in the cutting tool industry,” said Tom Haag, president of USCTI. “Sales volume has recorded the best month in over two years going back to March 2012 and four of the last five months have outperformed 2013. The increased sales immediately after IMTS in Chicago have created a momentum that has continued to swell into the fourth quarter.”

The Cutting Tool Market Report 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 the primary consumable in the manufacturing process — the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.

For more information, visit www.amtonline.org.