More than 90% of manufacturers are using PPP loans, says survey

A new survey of members of the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) and Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) shows the importance of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan program, with more than 91% of respondents reporting that they have applied for and received a PPP loan to retain employees that they would have otherwise furloughed or terminated. However, more than 70% of respondents reported that they may need to furlough or terminate employees when their loan funding ends.

The NTMA/PMA survey showed that the top policy priorities for manufacturers are for Congress to extend the PPP term loan forgiveness from eight to 16 weeks to allow for deductibility of business expenses paid with PPP proceeds, to extend the PPP’s deadline for loan forgiveness from June 30 to Sept. 30, to rehire employees, and to reaffirm Congressional intent that spending 75% on payroll costs is not a requirement in the law.

The ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic were also evident in survey responses, with 65% of manufacturers reporting that they expect customer disruptions for the next two to six months, and more than half reporting that they are receiving orders well below the normal rate. Most also responded that customers are reporting longer payment terms or extension of permanent terms.

Full survey results are available here.