Cutting tool consumption fell in January
January 2021 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $152.2 million, down 3.2 percent from December's $157.3 million and down 21.8 percent when compared with the $194.8 million reported for January 2020.
This total was reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration between the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology.
“January shipments levels are better than the dismal numbers in May 2020 but don’t reflect a recovery in Q1 business levels either. However, I expect a recovery to begin in our industry soon as the government stimulus translates into greater manufacturing levels early in 2021,” said Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group.
Greg Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics US, said the outlook is looking brighter for cutting tools, but the road to a full recovery remains long. In January, cutting tool shipments were 22 percent lower than last year despite durable goods shipments being 6.2 percent year-over-year higher than in January 2020. "Improving health conditions, expanding vaccine distribution, and generous fiscal stimulus will form a powerful cocktail that lifts economic activity this year. A softer U.S. dollar and rebounding global growth should further contribute to the sectoral tailwinds. Looking further ahead, policy risks are tilted to the upside with President Biden’s Build Back Better plan potentially adding $2 trillion in government spending on infrastructure, climate change initiatives and R&D over the next ten years," he said.
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