PMA Business Conditions Report forecasts slight decline.
Press Release Summary:
Of 134 metal forming companies from USA and Canada in October 2012 PMA Business Conditions Report, 15% anticipate economic activity improvement, 55% predict unchanged conditions, and 30% foresee decline over next 3 months. Participants also expect decrease in incoming orders during same time period, with 24% for increase, 41% for no change, and 35% for decrease. Average daily shipping levels remained fairly steady, and participants with workforce on short time or layoff increased to 16%.
Original Press Release:
Business Conditions Report: October 2012
CLEVELAND, OH–According to the October 2012 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect a slight decline in business conditions during the next three months. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 134 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
The October report shows that only 15% of participants anticipate that economic activity will improve during the next three months (down from 24% in September), 55% predict that activity will remain unchanged (up from 51% last month) and 30% report that activity will decline (compared to 25% in September).
Metalforming companies also expect a decrease in incoming orders during the next three months, with 24% anticipating an increase in orders (down from 32% in September), 41% forecasting no change (compared to 37% last month) and 35% predicting a decrease in orders (up from 31% in September).
Average daily shipping levels remained fairly steady in October. Twenty-two percent of participants report that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (the same percentage reported in September), 33% report that shipping levels are the same as three months ago (compared to 38% in September), and 45% report a decrease in shipping levels (up from 40% in September).
The percentage of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff increased to 16% in October, up from 15% in September. The October figure is significantly higher than it was one year ago when only 8% of metalformers reported workers on short time or layoff.
“Uncertainty over the outlook for new orders and shipments for Q-4 continues to rise among PMA members,” said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. “However, actual year-to-date orders among members through August averaged 7% growth over 2011 and actual shipments were up by an average of 10% year-to-date. With the national elections looming, there is much concern being expressed over the outcome of the election and whether the next Congress will move aggressively to support growth in the manufacturing sector at the same time it addresses rising deficits and the looming fiscal cliff.”
The monthly Business Conditions Report has been conducted by PMA since 1979. Full report results are available at www.pma.org/public/business_reports/pdf/BCREP.pdf. PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $113-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 900 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, FABTECH and METALFORM tradeshows, MetalForming magazine and Fabricating Product News.
