Manufacturers/End Users
January 29, 2026
Metalforming market sentiment improves in January: PMA
Written by Kristen DiLandro
Metalforming manufacturers anticipate strong near-term economic conditions that will give way to increasing orders, according to the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report for January 2026.
Nearly half of the surveyed manufacturers (49%) predict that within the next three months economic growth will increase. That’s up from 26% in December. Meanwhile, 43% of respondents predict there is no likely change in economic activity, compared to 57% in December. Finally, just 8% of respondents anticipate a decrease in economic activity. That is an improvement from the 17% who expected decreases in December.
Survey respondents who anticipate increases in orders over the next three months grew to 53% compared to 48% in December. Thirty-seven percent expect no change in the number of orders received within the next three months, up from 32% in December. And 10% forecast a downturn in orders for the three-month period, an improvement from last month when 20% of respondents expected orders to decrease.
Shipping levels reportedly rebounded in January. In December, a mere 11% of the surveyed metalformers experienced increases to current average daily shipping levels, and in January the number grew to 20%. Half of the respondents (50%) haven’t experienced any changes in January. The number of respondents reporting decreases in shipping levels fell to 30% from 51% in December.
Respondents are expanding their current workforce totaled 33% compared to 29% last month, according to the PMA report. Short-time or layoff figures for January fell to 6% of respondents from 9% in December.
Meanwhile, respondents said that January’s lead times remained consistent. Thirteen percent of them said lead times increased, the same percentage as in December.
PMA’s monthly report assessed survey responses from 88 metalforming companies in the US and Canada. The monthly report functions as a three-month economic indicator for participants in the manufacturing sector.
