The U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (UCTI) and Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) reported that orders for cutting tools in May 2024 were $214.4 million. Orders decreased 0.1% from April 2024 but increased by 1.8% over May 2023.
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Total orders for the year are $1.06 billion, up 4% from the first five months of 2024.
“May’s results indicate that production levels remain strong, but I think the historically high numbers can be somewhat attributed to inflation,” said Jack Burley, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “Backlogs are coming down, and most job shops are no longer working overtime, but they’re still dependent on the core customer base they support. A side benefit is that shops now have time to test new products and work on process improvements rather than focusing on hitting their shipments every week.”
“Through May 2024, shipments of cutting tools continued to show a slight increase in the year-to-date percentage,” said Alan Richter, editor-at-large of Cutting Tool Engineering. “However, the near-flat growth in recent months is partly due to the challenges faced by aerospace and defense manufacturers. Like most manufacturers, they have needed to overcome supply chain snags, longer lead times, and a shortage of skilled workers, even while demand for their products is relatively strong as geopolitical instability unfortunately grows and the demand for global air travel climbs.”
