Business Conditions Report: January 2007


CLEVELAND, OH - January 18, 2007-Metalforming companies expect a substantial improvement in business conditions during the next three months, according to the January 1, 2007, Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 172 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.

When asked what they expect the trend in general economic activity to be over the next three months, 27% of participants reported that conditions will improve (up from 19% in December), 55% predict activity will remain the same (compared to 51% the previous month) and only 18% forecast a decline in business conditions (down from 30% in December).

The number of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff decreased to 15% in January, down slightly from December when 16% reported having workers on short time or layoff.

Metalforming companies also anticipate an upswing in incoming orders during the next three months. Forty-two percent of respondents predict an increase in orders (up from 29% in December), 38% forecast no change (compared to 43% in December) and just 20% expect a decrease in orders (down from 28% last month).

Current average daily shipping levels compared to the past three months remained steady in January. Twenty-three percent of companies reported that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (up from 18% in December), 37% reported no change (compared to 43% in December) and 40% reported that January shipping levels are below levels of three months ago (compared to 39% last month).

"PMA's orders and shipments data for 2006 indicates that many metalforming companies experienced a fairly strong year, at least until the fourth quarter when automotive, construction and truck-related customers began to scale back orders," said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. "At a recent 2007 business forecast roundtable, PMA members predicted that the first three to six months of 2007 would be flat or show only modest increases in shipments, but there clearly was an expectation that orders would grow in the second half of the year. This appears consistent with general economic forecasts that project a slow start to 2007, but then overall GDP growth of 2.3 to 2.8 percent for the full year," he noted.

The monthly Business Conditions Report has been conducted by PMA since 1979. Full report results are available at www.pma.org. PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $41-billion metalforming industry of North America-the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating and other value-added processes. Its nearly 1200 member companies include metal stampers, fabricators, spinners, slide formers and roll formers as well as suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. Members are located in 30 countries, with the majority found in North America - in 41 states of the United States as well as Canada and Mexico.

Contact:
Christie Carmigiano
Precision Metalforming Association
Ph: 216-901-9666 ext. 105
Fax: 216-901-9190
ccarmigiano@pma.org
www.pma.org

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