According to the Cutting Tool Management Report (CTMR) for August 2021 from the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT), real cutting tool orders were $164.9 million, an increase of 19.3% compared with one year ago. August was the fifth straight month of month-over-month growth and all five months had growth faster than 14%. The annual rate of change in August, 7.1%, contracted at a decelerating rate for the sixth month in a row.

The GBI: Metalworking is a good leading indicator of cutting tool orders and leads cutting tool orders by seven to 10 months. In September, the index was above 50 for the 12^th month in a row and the month-over-month rate of change in the index grew for the 14^th consecutive month. The annual rate of change grew at an accelerating rate for the seventh consecutive month, indicating that the annual rate of contraction in cutting tool orders will continue to decelerate throughout 2021 as cutting tool orders continue to improve on a month-by-month basis.