Cutlery and Handtool Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 948 cutlery and handtool manufacturers in the US produce nonpowered hand and edge tools; saw blades; and metal kitchen cookware, utensils, and nonprecious and precious-plated metal cutlery and flatware. Large firms may also produce hardware, industrial tools, power tools, and related products, such as storage systems.
Foreign Competition
Domestic handtool and cutlery manufacturers compete with foreign producers, which offer the same or similar products but enjoy a more favorable cost structure.
Variability in Raw Material Costs
The cost of raw materials, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, can vary and affect margins and profitability for handtool and cutlery manufacturers.
Industry size & Structure
The average cutlery and handtool manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs 33-34 workers, and generates about $11 million annually.
- The cutlery and handtool manufacturing industry consists of about 950 firms, employs about 32,400 workers, and generates $10.4 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated; the top 50 companies account for 70% of industry revenue.
- Large firms that manufacture cutlery or hand tools, which include Stanley Black & Decker, Snap-On, L.S. Starrett Company, and Lifetime Brands (Farberware, Hoffritz), may have global operations and generate a significant percentage of revenue from foreign markets.
- Handtool and saw blade manufacturers account for 81% of establishments, and kitchen utensil and cookware manufacturers account for 19% of establishments.
Industry Forecast
Cutlery and Handtool Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 18, 2025 - Competition From Private Brands
- Makers of branded cutlery and handtools are facing increasing competition from private-label products, Chain Store Age reports. As prices remain high, consumers are gravitating toward private-label brands, according to the latest Private Label Trends report from Numerator. Across 10 major product sectors, private-label products accounted for nearly a quarter of unit volume (24%). The sectors with the highest private label share included home & garden (34.1%), tools & home improvement (29.5%), and household (27.8%). Five Walmart brands had over 50% US household penetration in the past year, including its Mainstays (70%) cutlery and kitchen brand. Moreover, Numerator found that nearly half (41%) of surveyed consumers purchase private-label items to save money and 25% of consumers think they are as good as name brands.
- President Trump's tariffs threats, if realized, could worsen the US manufacturing sector’s current labor shortage, Inc reports. If, as Trump suggests, 25% tariffs on exports from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and other US trading partners, result in largescale reshoring of jobs to the US, it would deepen the labor shortage that currently plagues manufacturers. According to data cited by The Wall Street Journal, the number of available manufacturing jobs that go unfilled each month remained constant at about 100,000 throughout last year. Moreover, the domestic labor pool may not be able to fill millions of new positions expected to be created in the next few years, Inc. writes. Trump’s move to deport undocumented workers and restrict immigration to the US will exacerbate the current labor shortage, some business owners say.
- Shop floor injuries needn’t be serious to be costly. In its 2024 Injury Impact Report, the insurer The Travelers Companies found the most common workplace accidents accounted for the majority of claim costs. The most frequent causes of injury identified in the report included overexertion (29% of claims analyzed); slips, trips, and falls (23%); being struck by an object (12%). Those injuries were also the top drivers of severe claims, defined as $250,000 or more. Slips, trips, and falls, which include falls from height, topped that list. Injuries related to overexertion can result in extended absences with injuries like dislocations having the highest number of average lost-time days at 142 days, followed by fractures (92 days), and inflammation (85 days). Improving shop floor ergonomics, eliminating trip/fall hazards, and material handling mishaps are three areas metal fabricators can focus on to reduce injuries and time lost.
- The producer price index for cutlery and handtool manufacturers, which measures prices before reaching consumers, rose 3.2% in December compared to a year ago – a new high – after rising 4.3% in the previous December-versus-December annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by the industry fell 1.2% year over year in December, while average wages at fabricated metal manufacturers continued to climb, rising by 4.4% YoY in January to a new high of $26.80 per hour, BLS data show. After-tax profits for fabricated metal products companies sank 15.9% YoY in the third quarter and declined 4.7% versus Q2 amid falling sales, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
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