Economy
PMA Members Slightly Less Optimistic in March
Written by Sandy Williams
March 31, 2016
Members of the Precision Metalforming Association are expecting business conditions to falter a bit during the next three months.
The March PMA Business Conditions Report indicated a minor downward trend with 25 percent of participants predicting that economic activity will improve in the next three months (down from 30 percent in February), 59 percent expecting no change (compared to 57 percent last month) and 16 percent believing that economic activity will decline (up from 13 percent in February).
Incoming orders are expected to stay relatively unchanged during the next three months.
Daily average shipping levels improved in March with 40 percent reporting levels higher than three months ago compared to 32 percent in February.
More workers were on short term or layoff in March compared to February and a year ago. The percentage of workforce on short time or layoff increased to 17 percent in March, from 14 percent in February and 10 percent in March 2015.
“While expectations in the trend of general economic activity reported by members dipped slightly this month, expectations for average daily shipping levels rose substantially, compared to the levels in the third and fourth quarters of 2015,” said William E. Gaskin, PMA president. “The 8-month decline in shipping levels stabilized in December and January, and has been rising sharply during the past two months. Expectations for incoming orders also rose at the New Year and held steady during Q-1 of 2016.”
The March 2016 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report is a monthly survey, sampling 118 metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada, and is considered an economic indicator for manufacturing.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy
Steel Summit: ITR economist urges execs to prepare for growth, not recession
If the steel industry professionals who made it to the very final presentation of this year’s SMU Steel Summit were expecting another round of cautious forecasting, they were in for a surprise. Because what they got was a wake-up call.
ISM: Manufacturing growth remained down in August
US manufacturing activity remained muted in August despite a marginal gain from July's recent low, according to supply executives contributing to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)’s latest report.
Steel Summit: Dr. Basu blames tariffs for riskier path ahead
Steel executives packed the main conference hall of the 2025 SMU Steel Summit on Tuesday, Aug. 26, to hear economist Dr. Anirban Basu lay out his blunt view of tariffs, inflation, and demand.
Steel Summit: Schneider sees SDI ‘on the edge of a very good run’
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) President and Chief Operating Officer, Barry Schneider, remains bullish about the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker’s position in the current market.
US housing starts gain momentum in July
US housing starts rose in July both month-on-month and year-on-year, according to figures from the US Census Bureau.