Metal forming companies expect spike in new orders, shipments

Metal forming companies expect a substantial spike in new orders and shipments during the next three months, according to the Feb. 1, 2007, Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 138 metal forming companies in the United States and Canada.

When asked what they expect the trend in general economic activity to be over the next three months, 32 percent of participants reported that conditions will improve (up from 27 percent in January), 58 percent predict activity will remain the same (compared to 55 percent the previous month) and only 10 percent anticipate a decline in business conditions (down from 18 percent in January).

Metal forming companies also expect an improvement in incoming orders during the next three months. Forty-five percent of respondents predict an increase in orders (up from 42 percent in January), 39 percent forecast no change (compared to 38 percent in January) and 16 percent anticipate a decrease in orders (down from 20 percent last month).

Despite these positive trends, the number of metal forming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff increased to 17 percent in February, up from 15 percent in January.