August cutting tool shipments up 32.2% year over year
Shipments of cutting tools totaled $278.6 million in August 2026, according to the latest Cutting Tool Market Report, a collaboration between AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI).
The value of shipments decreased 0.8% from the $280.9 million reported in July 2026 but was up 32.2% from August 2025. Year-to-date shipments totaled $2.03 billion, up 22.4% from the same period in 2025. Unit shipments in August remained steady with little movement in the past three months.
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.
“Through the first eight months of 2026, our industry has experienced significant double-digit growth,” said Mike Stokey, president of USCTI and executive vice president and owner of cutting tool manufacturer Allied Machine & Engineering. “As I previously stated, much of this growth is due to skyrocketing raw material costs, which have caused inflation in the industry.
"Even without inflation, we are still experiencing significant growth, and this appears to be driven by the U.S. economy," he continued. "Although APT pricing has stabilized for the moment, supply continues to be a concern. The leadership team of USCTI plans to remain active in Washington, D.C., indefinitely, and we will continue to work with the administration on raw material tariffs, which impact our ability to compete in a global market. We continue to be optimistic as we move forward.”
“Cutting tool shipments have increased 20.4% since July 2025. During the last expansion of cutting tool demand that began in March 2021, shipments continued to accelerate for 27 months after orders of new machinery went into contraction. Investment in new metalworking machinery, as measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report, is two years into a still-accelerating expansion,” said Christopher Chidzik, principal economist of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. “While material cost pressures have inflated the market, there is still a strong base of underlying demand for cutting tools. The average number of new metalworking machines ordered each month has increased 16% since July 2025, when cutting tool orders began their current expansion, which is growing the total stock of machinery that requires tooling. Factoring out price increases, year-to-date shipments through August 2026 were up 12.5% from the same period in 2025.”
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