Shipments of cutting tools, measured by the Cutting Tool Market Report, a collaboration between AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI), totaled $259.3 million in March 2026. Orders increased 15.2% from February 2026 and were up 24.6% from March 2025. Year-to-date shipments totaled $705.1 million, up 15.9% from the same period in 2025. Unit shipments increased in each of the past two months, with a modest rise from January to February followed by a larger increase from February to March.
“Most machine shops are booking customer orders for all types of manufactured components at a pace not seen for several years, driving the demand for tooling and new equipment,” said Jack Burley, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group and president of Big Daishowa, a cutting tool manufacturer. “As a result, the March total for cutting tool shipments broke all records, a clear indication that toolmakers are working hard to meet delivery demands and maintain inventory. Behind the good news are concerns about increasing costs and shortages of tungsten carbide and high-speed steel, as well as the escalating price of oil and gas due to the conflict in the Middle East.”
Costikyan Jarvis, president of cutting tool manufacturer Jarvis Cutting Tools, said: “Anyone reviewing this data should be cautious about interpreting dollar growth as demand growth in an environment where the cost inflation of raw materials is running at historic levels. However, the March 2026 results may also reflect a significant buy-ahead effort, with customers anticipating price increases or supply disruptions. Sustained demand strength will need to be confirmed over the coming months before the industry can draw meaningful conclusions about the underlying trend.”
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.
