Monthly Report assesses March 2009 metalforming conditions.
Press Release Summary:
According to the March 2009 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect that general economic activity will remain sluggish during the next 3 months. Thirteen percent of participants predict an improvement in overall economic activity, 39% expect that activity will remain unchanged, and 48% reported that activity will decline. Current average daily shipping levels improved slightly in March.
Original Press Release:
Business Conditions Report: March 2009
CLEVELAND, OH-March 13, 2009-According to the March 2009 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect continued difficult conditions during the next three months. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 160 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
Metalformers anticipate general economic activity will remain sluggish during the next three months. Thirteen percent of participants predict an improvement in overall economic activity (up from nine percent in February), 39% expect that activity will remain unchanged (down from 48% last month) and 48% reported that activity will decline (compared to 43% in February).
Current average daily shipping levels improved slightly in March. Seventy-three percent of participants report that shipping levels are below levels of three months ago (compared to 79% in February), 18% report no change (up from 14% in February) and nine percent report that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (up from seven percent last month).
Metalforming companies anticipate that incoming orders will increase somewhat during the next three months. Twenty-four percent of companies forecast an increase in orders (up from 16% in February), 35% expect no change (compared to 34% the previous month) and 41% predict a decrease in orders (down from 50% in February).
The number of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff remained steady in March. Seventy-six percent of companies reported workers on short time or layoff in March, compared to 75% in February. This level remains at a substantially higher rate than one year ago, when only 19% of companies reported workers on short time or layoff.
"The outlook for orders and shipping levels is only marginally improved in March compared with February," commented PMA President William E. Gaskin. "There is little reason to believe that a sharp uptick in business levels is likely during the next few months. Credit markets remain weak and demand for housing, automobiles, and industrial and consumer products continues to be very soft. A large segment of the metalforming industry is on pins and needles waiting to learn whether the Automotive Task Force, which is advising the U.S. Treasury Department, will support additional financial help for General Motors and/or Chrysler and whether the liquidity needs of automotive suppliers, especially Tier 2 and Tier 3 middle-market companies, will be addressed by any additional forthcoming assistance."
The monthly Business Conditions Report has been conducted by PMA since 1979. Full report results are available at pma.org/about/stats/BCreport. PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $91-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 nearly 1,200 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. PMA leads innovative member companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, METALFORM tradeshows and MetalForming magazine.
