October PMA Business Conditions Report indicates no foreseeable change.
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Press Release Summary:
Data from October 2010 PMA Business Conditions Report indicates metalforming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during next 3 months. Sampling 121 U.S. and Canadian metalforming companies, report also shows participants expect incoming orders to remain unchanged throughout same time period. Average daily shipping levels in October were reported as steady, and percentage of companies with portion of their workforce on short time or layoff dipped to 17% in October.
Original Press Release:
Business Conditions Report: October 2010
CLEVELAND, OH-According to the October 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 121 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
The October report shows that 20% of participants forecast an improvement in economic activity during the next three months (down from 22% in September), 54% predict that activity will remain unchanged (compared to 59% last month) and 26% report that activity will decline (up from 19% in September).
Metalforming companies expect incoming orders to remain virtually unchanged for the next three months. Twenty-five percent of participants predict an increase in orders (down from 26% in September), 45% anticipate no change (compared to 49% last month) and 30% predict a decrease in orders (up from 25% in September).
Average daily shipping levels in October continued to be steady. Forty-nine percent of participants report that shipping levels are the same as three months ago (up from 39% in September), 32% report that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (compared to 40% in September), while 19% report a decrease in shipping levels (down from 21% in September).
The percentage of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff dipped to 17% in October from 19% in September. This number is significantly lower than it was one year ago when 60% of companies had workers on short time or layoff.
"October's data reflect normal expectations for the 4th quarter with a modest shift to a more cautious outlook anticipating lower orders and shipments as year-end approaches with a shortened work schedule during the December holidays," said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. "PMA's separate Monthly Orders & Shipments Report confirms that the metalforming industry has generally experienced a solid recovery in 2010, with year-to-date orders through August up 47 percent, on average, from the same period in 2009 and shipments up by 41 percent. New orders have been above the 12-month rolling average for 15 months, since July 2009, and shipments have been above the 12-month rolling average for 14 months, since August 2009. Most companies are still very cautious about making large capital investments and rehiring workers, but business trends continue to be positive."
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.
