Editor-in-Chief
- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
Gauging metal manufacturing's health
- By Dan Davis
- March 18, 2011
A good question required a thoughtful answer, so I started thinking. Then I started searching. Then I started wondering: How do you find common barometers for companies in the metal fabricating industry, which are alike in the processes they employ but different in the diverse customers they serve? The answer was that any type of economic barometer would have to be pretty generic.This is how I responded:
- Institute for Supply Management index. The index, which was at 61.4 in February 2011 (anything over 50 is indicative of market expansion), is a useful snapshot of the overall health of the manufacturing industry. It suggests that the overall manufacturing economy has grown for the 21st consecutive month and that exports are driving new orders and production increases. The downside of the index is that it covers so many industry segments—18 in all, including apparel, leather, and allied products; beverage and tobacco products; and paper products.
- The Federal Reserve's updates on industrial production and capacity utilization. I like these documents the best. You can drill down and get a good idea about how the fabricated metal products sector, which is arguably the heart of the metal fabricating industry, is performing. From February 2010 to February 2011, the sector has gained a 12.4 percent uptick in production. When you look at capacity utilization, you'll see the sector reached 78.8 percent, which is just above the 77.3 percent average from 1972-2010. Those numbers are positive economic indicators.
- The Federal Reserve's Beige Book. This collection of anecdotal information, published eight times a year, is a nice picture of economic activity in each of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts. It provides a window into specific geographic areas. However, it isn't directly related to metal fabricating, and it isn't the most timely of economic updates.
- U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau's collection of economic indicators is fairly thorough. Not only does it track manufacturing inventories, sales, and shipments, it links to other useful statistical areas, such as housing starts and building permits.
Obviously, metal fabricators would like more forward-looking information sources, but those are hard to find. If anyone really had access to those types of seers, they probably wouldn't be at the shop, but rather at the horse track.
subscribe now
The Fabricator is North America's leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The magazine delivers the news, technical articles, and case histories that enable fabricators to do their jobs more efficiently. The Fabricator has served the industry since 1970.
start your free subscriptionAbout the Author
Dan Davis
2135 Point Blvd.
Elgin, IL 60123
815-227-8281
Dan Davis is editor-in-chief of The Fabricator, the industry's most widely circulated metal fabricating magazine, and its sister publications, The Tube & Pipe Journal and The Welder. He has been with the publications since April 2002.
- Stay connected from anywhere
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Welder.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Tube and Pipe Journal.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 03/26/2024
- Running Time:
- 67:51
This week on The Fabricator Podcast, Jason Becker, host of the Arc Junkies Podcast and owner of Underground...
- Trending Articles
USS Midway’s tuition-free welding program a win-win
San Diego landmark becomes floating classroom for student welders
K&S celebrates 50 years in business
Guiding metal fabrication’s automation transformation
Increasing revenue by applying production concepts to sales and marketing
- Industry Events
Coil Processing Workshop & Tours
- April 2 - 3, 2024
- Corpus Christi, TX
GOLF4MFG South
- April 15, 2024
- Charlotte, NC
16th Annual Safety Conference
- April 30 - May 1, 2024
- Elgin,
Pipe and Tube Conference
- May 21 - 22, 2024
- Omaha, NE
World-Class Roll Forming Workshop
- June 5 - 6, 2024
- Louisville, KY