Alan Richter, editor-at-large of Cutting Tool Engineering, added: “With economic and market uncertainties, such as tariffs, supply chains, and inflation, coupled with ongoing and new geopolitical tensions swirling with the election of a new U.S. presidential administration, manufacturers that use cutting tools continued to decrease their tool consumption in December, albeit at a slower rate than November. However, more encouraging reasons for the slide include toolmakers developing cutters that last longer while running at higher machining parameters, productivity gains with automation and AI, and increased efficiency from implementing advanced, or ‘smart,’ technologies.”

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.

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