Shipping levels rebound, metal formers predict consistent economic activity, says report

Metal forming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during the next three months, according to the June 2023 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Prepared monthly, the report provides an economic indicator for the next three months of manufacturing, sampling 96 metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada.

The report shows that 58% of metal forming companies expect no change in general economic activity in the next three months (compared to 54% in May), 32% predict a decrease in activity (down from 35% in May), and only 10% forecast an increase in activity (compared to 11% last month).

There also was little change in metal formers’ anticipation of incoming orders, with 20% of survey respondents expecting an increase in orders during the next three months (compared to 21% in May), 44% predicting no change (compared to 45% last month), and 36% forecasting a decrease in orders (up from 34% in May).

However, current average daily shipping levels rebounded in June. Twenty-seven percent of responding companies reported an increase in shipping levels (up from 15% in May), 52% reported no change (compared to 49% last month), and 21% reported a decrease (down from 36% in May).

Lead times remained steady in June, with only 10% of metal forming companies reporting an increase in lead times (compared to 11% in May). Ten percent of companies had a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff in June (up from 7% in May), while 46% of companies are currently expanding their workforce (compared to 40% last month).