PMPA Business Trends Sales Index for May climbed to its second highest value ever as forward looking indicators for Sales, Lead Time, Employment and Profitability softened but remained positive.

Second only to the value for March 2018!

Our year to date average is 136, up 11 points or 8.8% over 2017’s year-end average of 125.
We are at 106% of where we were a year ago in May.
The FED reported that Industrial Production (IP) Industrial Production edged down 0.1 percent in May after rising
0.9 percent in April. Manufacturing production fell 0.7 percent in May, largely because truck assemblies were disrupted by
a major fire at a parts supplier. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, factory output moved down 0.2 percent.”
Our industry is clearly outperforming IP- they cannot make it until we produce the precision components needed.
The sentiment indicators while lower, still remain in positive territory, and are likely based on the realization that the summer is typically less demanding than the first quarter.
Full report available HERE

PMPA Business Trends June 2018

 

With 84 companies responding, the PMPA Business Trends Index for June 2018 held steady at 138, highest June on record and tied with May 2018. The calendar year average remains 136. The 2018 June index of 138 is 2.2% higher than June 2017’s 135 value. This is our Index’s highest value recorded for June, and is our second highest value ever recorded (March 2018’s 143 was the highest ever). Our year to date average is 136, up 11 points or 8.8% over 2017’s year-end average of 125. We are up 106% year to date.

 

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According to the just released Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® “No industry reported a decrease in PMI® in May compared to April. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May, and the overall economy grew for the 109th consecutive month; the May PMI® registered 58.7 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the April reading of 57.3 percent.” – Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. 
Here are the key points:

  • The May PMI® registered 58.7 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the April reading of 57.3 percent.
  • The New Orders Index registered 63.7 percent, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from the April reading of 61.2 percent.
  • The Production Index registered 61.5 percent, a 4.3 percentage point increase compared to the April reading of 57.2 percent.
  • The Employment Index registered 56.3 percent, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the April reading of 54.2 percent. 
  • The Inventories Index registered 50.2 percent, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the April reading of 52.9 percent. 
  • Demand remains strong, with the New Orders Index at 60 or above for the 13th straight month, and the Customers’ Inventories Index remaining at very low levels.
  • The Backlog of Orders Index continued expanding, with its highest reading since April 2004, when it registered 66.5 percent.

Another solid month of manufacturing performance

Consumption, described as production and employment, continues to expand in the face of labor shortages,  skill shortages and both price and supply uncertainty on necessary material inputs, primarily driven by the Section 232 Tariffs.
Just as the national  anthem is a sign that the ball game is about to start, this ISM report is our signal that we need to start having price increase discussions with our customers.
The tariffs are here, and our inputs are all increasingly difficult to obtain and expensive.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5gkkBtRK_U]
 

Game on!

ISM PMI May 2018 
 
Calculated Risk Blog

Published June 2018

By PMPA Staff

In 1953, Swiss immigrant Gerard Paroz left his home country for New York City to find work in the United States in the machine tool industry. He eventually found work in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Gruen Watch Co., where he has mastered his skills in mechanical engineering and Swiss turning technology

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