Optimism for growth down among small manufacturers, says Xometry

Gaithersburg, Md.-based Xometry, which operates an e-commerce marketplace, has released the findings of its quarterly Small Manufacturing Index (SMI), showing less year-over-year and month-over-month growth optimism among small to midsize manufacturers.

Forty-three percent of surveyed manufacturers in April reported that they were likely to see strong to mild year-over-year growth, compared to 61 percent of those surveyed in January. Forty-two percent of surveyed manufacturers reported in April that they were likely to see strong to mild month-over-month growth, compared to 57 percent in January. However, a subset of manufacturers that use online manufacturing platforms indicated an increase in expected year-over-year growth, with 65 percent expecting to see growth this Q2 2017 compared to the same time last year—a 4 percent improvement from last quarter’s survey.

The quarterly index, which takes the pulse of small to midsize manufacturing shops, asked manufacturers both inside and outside Xometry’s partner network whether they expected to see growth in business compared to previous months and prior years. It also asked what they anticipate their growth sectors to be. These small to midsize manufacturers represent more than 190,000 companies, over a $50 billion market.