September U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $176.5 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 (CTMR) collaboration, was up 4.6% from August’s total and up 7.7% from September 2013.

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 about 80% of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“The 4.6% increase for September’s cutting tool shipments was not a surprise as the market’s expectations were for a strong finish in 2014,” said Brad Lawton, Chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “There is every indication that the momentum from the fall of 2014 is a harbinger of continued growth in industrial production and cutting tool sales for 2015.”

The Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) 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.