Report: July U.S. Cutting-Tool Orders Up Over June, but Down Year to Date

Shipments of cutting tools to U.S. manufacturers totaled $216.2 million in July 2025., with orders increasing 4.9% from June 2025 and 9.8% from July 2024, according to the Cutting Tool Market Report, a collaboration between AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute. Year-to-date shipments totaled $1.45 billion, down 2.9% from the same period in 2024.

“The latest trend is showing some modest growth compared to the previous months, which coincides with the activity of most shops,” says Jack Burley, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group. “They still have orders to fill and are not indicating any signs of slowing down. However, areas of concern remain for automotive, construction and agricultural companies, where sales and tariffs are hitting hardest, causing delays for investment. More importantly, the tariff costs are settling in for most of the imported tools and raw materials, which may be stabilizing prices for now.”

Adds Eli Lustgarten, president of ESL Consultants, in summing up various markets:

“Current data suggest that the worst is over for the cutting-tool sector, but businesses appear to be adopting a wait-and-see attitude. The outlook seems relatively flat, with a positive bias for the second half of the year and into 2026. End-market demand, which had been driven by aerospace, automotive and heavy equipment, can now count only on the aerospace sector. The auto sector faces supply-chain issues related to trade as well as the expiration of electric-vehicle incentives. Slower domestic economic growth and the effect of inflation on consumers indicate a slowing of auto production. The heavy-equipment market appears flat, with possible positive trends in the construction sector because of reduced inventories, a slight pickup in trucks and a possible improvement in mining. However, the outlook for the agricultural sector continues to deteriorate because of record yields and crops, rising carryovers, and declining prices, which have translated into a new round of layoffs.”

See also: Association for Manufacturing Technology

Technologies: Management

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