Report Shows Planned Capital Expenditures on Track

The 3rd quarter 2013 Forming & Fabricating Job Shop Consumption Report produced by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association was recently released and it shows predictable strength in future manufacturing activity for this sector, based on planned capital investment.

“Shops do not make capital investments unless there is a solid reason to expect the investment will pay off,” said Dr. Chris Kuehl, economic analyst for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association. “This report reflects a far more confident look forward than many had expected given all the uncertainty that has surrounded the economy in recent months.”

Projections for business in the coming quarter is very positive with more than half of respondents indicating they expect improvement and another 36 percent believing that things will remain stable. Only 14% expect a decline, which is consistent with manufacturing data that is coming from both the Purchasing Managers Index and the Credit Managers Index.

The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association surveys small to mid-sized job shops and contract manufacturers in the metal fabricating sector on a quarterly basis to produce the Job Shop Consumption report. The report assesses operating capacity, new order activity, employment, commodity pricing trends, logistics costs, planned capital equipment purchases and general business outlook. The survey is distributed to more than 17,000 industry executives whose companies make parts or provide assemblies for companies in the automotive, aerospace, medical equipment and heavy equipment industries.

The results are interpreted by FMA’s economic analyst, Dr. Chris Kuehl, founding partner of Armada Corporate Intelligence and author of Fabrinomics®, a biweekly economic analysis e-newsletter for members of FMA. Kuehl’s commentary is included in the survey results.

The Forming & Fabricating Job Shop Consumption Report for the 3rd quarter of 2013 can be found at the FMA Store. The report is distributed free as a service to professionals in the metal forming and fabricating industry.

About FMA
Based in Rockford, Ill., FMA is a professional organization with nearly 2,500 members working together to improve the metal processing, forming, and fabricating industry. Founded in 1970, FMA brings metal fabricators and fabricating equipment manufacturers together through technology councils, educational programs, networking events, and the FABTECH® tradeshow. FMA’s technology affiliate, the Tube & Pipe Association, Intl. (TPA), focuses on the unique needs of companies that are engaged in tube and pipe producing and fabricating. (www.fmanet.org)
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