FMA releases Q3 2015 “Forming & Fabricating Job Shop Consumption Report”

Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA), Rockford, Ill., has released its Q3 2015 “Forming & Fabricating Job Shop Consumption Report (FFJSCR).”

According to the report, the level of capacity utilization for small and midsize metal fabricators has been stable, with 80 percent reporting that utilization is either stable (47 percent) or expanding (33 percent). However, the average utilization is still just 65 percent—less than the national level of 76 percent. This suggests that most of the companies reporting to the FFJSCR still have quite a bit of slack to work with and will be less likely to add machines or people in the very near future.

Most participants in the FFJSCR are reporting stable (46 percent) to growing (26 percent) in new order activity. This is close to what was reported last quarter, which suggests that some of the volatility that has hit some of the bigger companies has not been as important an issue for the companies reporting in this index.

The report shows that most companies seem to have about the right number of people they need, with 67 percent reporting stable hiring. Twenty-three percent reported increased hiring, and only 10 percent indicated they would be reducing their employment numbers.

The best news for the respondents is that costs are generally under control. The price of metals has been falling or remaining stable, and that seems to apply to steel, aluminum, copper, nickel, and others.

The most concerning part of the report is the information on capital spending. Roughly half of the companies participating are where they thought they would be at this point, but some of these companies expected to do very little spending, and that is still their position. Almost one-quarter of respondents have delayed their purchases indefinitely.

Overall, there is confidence in metal fabricating job shops: 44 percent report positive projections, and 40 percent report they are stable. This matches up well with national confidence numbers.