CLEVELAND, OH—April 18, 2024—Metalforming manufacturers predict little change in economic activity over the next three months, a trend that has held steady since the start of the year, according to the April 2024 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Prepared monthly, PMA’s report provides an economic indicator for the next three months of manufacturing, sampling 99 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.

PMA’s April report shows that 67% of the manufacturers responding to the survey forecast no change in general economic activity in the next three months (compared to 60% in March), 21% forecast an increase in activity (compared to 24% last month) and 12% anticipate a decrease in activity (down from 16% in March).

Metalformers also predict minor changes in incoming orders, with 54% of survey respondents expecting no change in orders during the next three months (compared to 45% in March), 33% forecasting an increase in orders (compared to 39% in March) and 13% anticipating a decrease in orders (compared to 16% last month).

Current average daily shipping levels remained steady in April, with 48% reporting no change in shipping levels (increasing from 44% in March), 21% reporting an increase in levels (compared to 24% last month) and 31% reporting a decrease in levels (compared to 32% last month). 

Lead times also held steady with 6% of metalforming companies reporting an increase in lead times in April (the same percentage reported in March). Eight percent of companies had a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff in April (compared to 7% in March), while only 26% of companies are currently expanding their workforce (dropping from 36% in March). 

“The ongoing ambiguity around the tax landscape continues to be a drag on the metalforming industry as reflected by a 10% drop in companies that are currently expanding their workforce,” said David Klotz, PMA president. “If Congress were to roll back the tax on R&D expenditures and reinstate the ability for companies to fully deduct those costs, and restore 100% bonus depreciation, we would anticipate an immediate and positive shift in industry sentiment, hiring and future business condition projections. Resolving these critical tax issues would provide a much-needed injection of confidence and incentivize the strategic investments that are vital to maintaining our industry's competitive edge.”  

Full report results are available at https://www.pma.org/public/business_reports/pdf/BCREP.pdf.

PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming and roll forming technologies, and other value-added processes. Its more than 900 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. PMA leads companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, FABTECH tradeshows, and MetalForming magazine.