Metalformers expect improvement
Metalforming companies expect orders and shipments will continue to rise or at least remain constant during the next three months.
Conducted monthly, the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 142 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
The March report shows that 43% of participants expect an improvement in economic activity during the next three months (down from 45% in February), 52% predict that activity will remain unchanged (up from 49% last month) and only 5% report that activity will decline (down from 6% in February).
Metalforming companies also forecast fairly steady incoming orders during the next three months. Increased orders are anticipated by 48% (compared to 54% in February), 42% expect no change (compared to 32% the previous month) and 10% predict a decrease in orders (down from 14% in February).
Current average daily shipping levels rose slightly in March. Fifty-four percent of participants report that shipping levels are above levels of three months ago (up from 51% in February), 36% report no change (compared to 34% in February) and 10% reported that shipping levels are below levels of three months ago (down from 15% in February).
The number of metalforming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff continued to trend downward, with 42% reporting workers on short time or layoff in March, compared to 47% in February.
“Metalforming companies continue to expect improvement in their orders and shipments for the next three months,” said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. “PMA’s manufacturing members are experiencing 20-30 percent increases in orders and shipments compared to year-ago levels, when shipping levels were declining precipitously in Q-1 and Q-2 of 2009. Metalforming companies remain cautious about the mid- and long-term outlook, but in the near term, business continues to improve,” he continued.
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