Our December PMPA Business Trends Report for December 2017 finished at 125 for the year, up 6.8% over last year’s 117. 
It has been a great year for our precision machining shops, and “Busy” is the watchword.

Our industry sales increased over twice the US GDP growth reported by BEA for 2017!

Our sentiment indicators for the year ahead were positive as well.
PMPA members can read the full report here 
By the way, we predicted in May that our year end sales level would be 126.25- an error of just 1.25% from the actual value of 125!
Press representatives desiring a copy of the report please contact gro.apmp@reuabnehcrikm  to get a copy of the full report or to arrange an interview.
We are confident that 2018 will be a similarly strong year  for our industry- starting in 1st quarter where our indicators are all strongly positive.-Net Sales, Lead Times, Employment and Profitability.
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PMPA Business Trends January 2018

 

With 82 companies responding, the PMPA Business Trends Index for January 2018 jumped to 135, up 25% over December 2017, and up 5% over January 2017. This is up 8.9% over the five year average for January Sales. This 135 value is a new record for our January Sales Index- Last year’s 128 (tied with 2013) was the prior record. What it feels like-your experience getting orders produced and shipped in January felt a lot like it did for you in 2012 and 2014 when your shipments were up by 26-29% over December. What we are hearing “falling behind…exceeded forecast by 10%…Can’t get it out quick enough…Picking which jobs to run…” Almost three quarters of shops reporting (74.3%) reported sales increases up by ten percent or more in January.

 

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A very strong report for Manufacturing in December according to the ISM PMI.
“The December PMI® registered 59.7 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the November reading of 58.2 percent. The New Orders Index registered 69.4 percent, an increase of 5.4 percentage points from the November reading of 64 percent. The Production Index registered 65.8 percent, a 1.9 percentage point increase compared to the November reading of 63.9 percent. The Employment Index registered 57 percent, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the November reading of 59.7 percent. The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 57.9 percent, a 1.4 percentage point increase from the November reading of 56.5 percent. The Inventories Index registered 48.5 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the November reading of 47 percent. The Prices Index registered 69 percent in December, a 3.5 percentage point increase from the November reading of 65.5 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the 22nd consecutive month. Comments from the panel reflect expanding business conditions, with new orders and production leading gains...”- Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee
So much for Seasonality! So much for Q4 Slowdown!

A very strong showing for December!

The December 2017 value is up 5 points or 10% from last December’s reported value.
We continue to find multiple positive indicators for manufacturing strength.
If you are sitting on the sidelines in today’s economy, we respectfully suggest that you bring your talent to manufacturing.
PMPA’s latest Business Trends Report showed that sentiment in our shops for Employment was quite positive and strong:

Employment: Ninety-seven percent of respondents expect employment prospects to remain the same or
increase in our industry over the next three months-despite seasonal factors! Our industry continues to hold
very positive prospects for employment.”

Chart courtesy Calculated Risk Blog
Institute for Supply Management PMI December 2017 Press Release