According to the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report for March 2023, the forecast for economic activity in the metalforming industry over the next three months remains consistent with the previous month. While some manufacturers expressed optimism, others predicted challenges.
Surveying 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada, the report showed that 23% predict an increase in general economic activity in the next three months, 53% expect no change, and 24% anticipate a decrease in activity. Additionally, the survey revealed that metalformers forecast a slight decline in new orders; 31% expect an increase, 45% anticipate no change, and 24% predict a decrease in orders.
PMA President David Klotz commented that the report is consistent with what he heard from members at PMA’s Forming Our Future Leadership Conference, held at the beginning of March in Orlando, Florida and that supply-chain challenges persist. Klotz urges that Congress can help by "finally extending the R&D tax credit, providing funding for workforce training, and resisting unnecessary regulatory actions." He also called on the Administration to eliminate the unnecessary steel and aluminum tariffs on national security allies.
The report also showed little change in shipping levels and lead times, while the percentage of companies expanding their workforce increased from the previous month from 47% to 52%
You can access the full report results here: https://www.pma.org/public/business_reports/pdf/BCREP.pdf.
PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137 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 more than 900 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials, and services to the industry.