PMA releases Business Conditons Report for March.
Press Release Summary:
According to March 2013 PMA Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect steady business conditions during next 3 months. Report shows that 36% of participants predict economic activity will improve, while 58% believe activity will remain unchanged. Also, 46% forecast increase in orders, while 43% expect no change, and 11% predict decrease. While 42% of participants report that shipping levels are above 3 months ago, 42% report that shipping levels are the same and 16% report decrease.
Original Press Release:
Business Conditions Report: March 2013
CLEVELAND, OH—According to the March 2013 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies expect steady business conditions during the next three months. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
The March report shows that 36% of participants predict that economic activity will improve during the next three months (down from 37% in February), 58% believe that activity will remain unchanged (up from 55% last month) and only 6% anticipate that activity will decline (down from 8% in February).
Metalforming companies also expect little change in incoming orders during the next three months, with 46% forecasting an increase in orders (down from 50% in February), 43% expecting no change (compared to 39% last month) and 11% predicting a decrease in orders (the same percentage reported in February).
Average daily shipping levels increased slightly in March. Forty-two percent of participants report that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (up from 40% in February), 42% report that shipping levels are the same as three months ago (compared to 37% in February), and 16% report a decrease in shipping levels (down from 23% in February).
The percentage of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff dropped to 11% in March, down significantly from 19% in February. This figure is at its lowest level since March 2012 when metalformers reported 10% of workers on short time or layoff.Â
“PMA’s manufacturing member companies reported fairly strong orders and shipments in the first quarter of 2013 vs the last quarter of 2012,” said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. “However, compared to the first quarter of 2012, they are operating at similar levels. In calendar year 2012, orders and shipments started strong, then fell off substantially in early summer, recovered somewhat in early fall and then fell sharply again at year-end. In 2013, the trend line looks pretty similar so far. The real question will come as summer approaches, as to whether there will be a pull-back in consumer spending that impacts the rest of the year.”
The monthly Business Conditions Report has been conducted by PMA since 1979. Full report results are available at http://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, and MetalForming and Fabricating Product News magazines.
