McLEAN, Va. — Shipments of cutting tools, measured by the Cutting Tool Market Report, a collaboration between AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI), totaled $204.1 million in June 2025.
Orders declined 1.8% from May 2025 and 3.9% from June 2024. Year-to-date shipments totaled $1.23 billion, a drop of 4.9% from the same period in 2024.
“As we continue to wait for clarity on tariffs, demand for cutting tools has stagnated and cooled,” said Steve Boyer, president of USCTI. “The tariffs that have been implemented have increased raw material costs, and the ongoing challenge of finding talented workers remains concerning. Orders for cutting tools have declined month over month and year over year in April, May, and June. Key markets such as aerospace, automotive, and heavy equipment continue to drive demand, but they have remained stagnant so far this year.”
Alan Richter, editor-at-large of Cutting Tool Engineering, said, “Year-to-year and year-to-date monthly totals are down for the first six months of the year – for the latter, that means a reversal of a 43-month upward trend. These reduced shipments of cutting tools have been negatively impacted by the ongoing chaos created by tariff whiplash and complications from geopolitical tensions. Businesses are pausing or reversing manufacturing-connected investments as they take a wait-and-see approach. Although recent trade deals have removed some business uncertainty, storm clouds remain on the horizon, limiting clarity.”
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.
Christopher Chidzik is the principal economist at AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology.
