PMA Report relays little hope for immediate economic change.
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Press Release Summary:
Based on 119 metalforming companies queried in US and Canada, July 2010 PMA Business Conditions Report indicated that metalforming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during next 3 months. Metalforming companies also anticipate virtually no change in incoming orders for next 3 months. Also, average daily shipping levels dipped in July, and percentage of metalforming companies with portion of their workforce on short time or layoff remained unchanged.
Original Press Release:
Business Conditions Report: July 2010
CLEVELAND, OH - According to the July 2010 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during the next three months. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 119 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
The July report shows that 23% of participants expect an improvement in economic activity during the next three months (down from 24% in June), 61% predict that activity will remain unchanged (up from 59% last month) and 16% report that activity will decline (down from 17% in June).
Metalforming companies also anticipate virtually no change in incoming orders for the next three months. Twenty-nine percent of participants forecast an increase in orders (down from 30% in June), 51% expect no change (compared to 47% the previous month) and 20% predict a decrease in orders (down from 23% in June).
However, average daily shipping levels dipped in July. Only 34% of participants report that average daily shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (down from 48% in June), 54% report no change (up from 43% in June) and 12% report that shipping levels are below levels of three months ago (up from nine percent in June).
The percentage of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff remained unchanged from June to July, with 27% of companies reporting workers on short time or layoff.
"Metalforming companies, particularly suppliers to automotive, medical equipment, energy and electronics markets, continue to report very positive business conditions," said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. "It appears that there will be some softening in the 3rd quarter for many automotive suppliers due to reduced June sales. Many companies continue to be very cautious about the future due to the constant barrage of media coverage about the possibility of a double-dip recession. From numbers reported by PMA members, it certainly appears that the recovery will continue at a slow, but steady pace."
The monthly Business Conditions Report has been conducted by PMA since 1979. Full report results are available at 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 1,000 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, and MetalForming magazine.
