Metalforming manufacturers continue to persevere despite rising costs, supply-chain disruptions and the ongoing challenge to find workers, the latest PMA survey reveals. PHOTO courtesy BLM.
Current average daily shipping levels rebounded in June for North America’s metal formers, according to the June 2023 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report.
Twenty-seven percent of responding companies reported an increase in shipping levels (up from 15% in May), 52% reported no change (compared to 49% last month) and 21% reported a decrease (down from 36% in May).
Prepared monthly, the report provides an economic indicator for the next three months of manufacturing, sampling 96 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
“Metalforming manufacturers continue to persevere despite rising costs, supply-chain disruptions and the ongoing challenge to find workers,” said PMA President David Klotz.
Metalforming companies also anticipate little change in business conditions during the next three months,
PMA’s June report shows that 58% of metalforming companies expect no change in general economic activity in the next three months (compared to 54% in May), 32% predict a decrease in activity (down from 35% in May) and only 10% forecast an increase in activity (compared to 11% last month).
There also was little change in metalformers’ anticipation of incoming orders, with 20% of survey respondents expecting an increase in orders during the next three months (compared to 21% in May), 44% predicting no change (compared to 45% last month) and 36% forecasting a decrease in orders (up from 34% in May).
Lead times remained steady in June, with only 10% of metalforming companies reporting an increase in lead times (compared to 11% in May). Ten percent of companies had a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff in June (up from 7% in May), while 46% of companies are currently expanding their workforce (compared to 40% last month).
Full report results are available at https://www.pma.org/public/business_reports/pdf/BCREP.pdf.
PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming and roll forming technologies, and other value-added processes. Its more than 900 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry.
