“Precision Machining Industry Sales Level at 2/3 (66%) of 5-Year Average for May”
With 83 companies responding, the PMPA Business Trends Index for May increased slightly from 84 to 86. An increase of 2 points or 2.4 percent over April’s 84. This 86 value is down 42 points from the 5 year average for May of 128.4, a decline of 32.7%. Perspective, the lowest value for the BT index during the Great Recession was 64, in May of 2009. That 64 value is one-half the current 5-year average for May. At 86, May of 2020 is two- thirds (66.98%) of the 5- year average for the month of May.
Thanks to all the members who joined us in Charleston, South Carolina, last weekend for PMPA’s 88th Annual Meeting. It was a happy reunion of reconnecting with old friends and a great opportunity for meeting new – several members were attending for the first time in a few years, and 37 attendees were attending for the first time. We also had 11 past (PMPA) presidents joining us, including Tad Korndoerfer (2003 President) from Action Machine Products! The topics were timely and the speakers well received.
Be sure to visit the Annual Meeting Summary webpage to browse through the photographer photos and download the speaker presentations.
Mark your calendar for the 2022 Annual Meeting – October 6-10 – Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. The meeting schedule will be extended by one day to include the return of the Educational Foundation Golf Outing. See you then!
PMPA’s August Business Trends Sales Index remains elevated at its second highest level ever!
In August 2021, the PMPA Business Trends Index came in at 149, now the index’s second highest month of Sales. This 149 value for August 2021 is up 20 points or 15.5 percent from the five year average (2016-2020) for August of 129.
Overtime, measured by Hours of first shift scheduled remained high while dropping just 0.1 of an hour from 44.4 to 44.3 in August. Sixty-six percent of responding shops scheduled first shifts greater than 45 hours in August. Industrial Production (IP) as reported by the FED is up and above pre-pandemic levels. PMPA shops are reporting second highest levels of sales ever. Congruence. Our shops’ output remains elevated, and we are clearly key to helping the broader industrial production sector catch up with demand.
Our performance and sentiment indicators this month justify our continued optimism about the markets and employment prospects for our precision machining industry going forward in 2021. This report reflects both a current and ongoing positive reality for our precision machining shops, and the Industrial Production markets we serve. Our industry continues to do yeoman work to meet the challenges that we continue to face regarding supply, workforce recruitment, and inflation.
PMPA continues to seek out partner companies which will bring complementary service at a good value to your work.
Digital security is a fast-growing issue in our industry, of concern to all of us. When it comes to your company’s sensitive information, standard internet security simply isn’t good enough anymore.
Please allow me to introduce to you our latest affinity partner: Verifyle. You may have had the opportunity to meet Dana Shibley, Vice-President of Verifyle, at our PMTS booth last month.
Verifyle offers an ultra-secure way to store and share documents and messages with others, and it’s extremely easy to use. Each conversation, document and note is encrypted separately. Everything in your account is encrypted at all times, accessible only to you and those with whom you wish to share.
Give it a try! As a PMPA member you can get a Verifyle Pro account free for one year by signing up at www.verifyle.com/pmpa with your name and email address. Verifyle Pro offers many features, including unlimited digital signatures, PDF editing, and many additional security features to help keep your data out of the wrong hands.
Verifyle is led by the co-founder and inventor of Hotmail (Jack Smith), which spread to more than 500 million users and was many people’s first experience with email and the internet. Jack also had key roles with two other successful digital security companies.
The PMPA Business Trends July 2021 Sales Index dropped from June’s record high, but remained 12.8% above the five-year average for July, at 134. Performance and sentiment indicators this month justify our continued optimism about the markets and employment prospects for our precision machining shops in 2021. Year to date we remain at the 137 Sales Index average that we predicted for the full year. And our 12.8% overperformance for July, usually a low month, supports our confidence. Our shops are solidly on track. The numbers reflect the current and ongoing positive reality for our precision machining shops, while recognizing the challenges that we continue to successfully meet regarding supply, workforce recruitment, and inflation.
6-21-21 State Workforce Grants, Tax Incentive Tracking Matrix provided by The Franklin Partnership
Florida: Incumbent Worker Training – applications open July 1: With a focus on helping Florida’s small businesses, the grants reimburse companies up to 75 percent for pre-approved training costs. Companies choose their training provider based on the skills needed. Applying online is easy and approval is quick. https://careersourceflorida.com/training-grant/
Iowa: STEM Internships – applications open July 1: The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Internship program provides grants to Iowa companies for internship programs with a goal of transitioning interns to full-time employment in Iowa upon graduation. The goal is to retain educated workers in Iowa. Must participate in a substantive experience in an area closely related to the student’s STEM field. Maximum award to an employer in any one fiscal year shall not exceed $50,000. For every two dollars of wages earned by the student, one dollar paid by the employer is matched by one dollar from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and up to $5,000 per intern. https://www.iowaeda.com/grow/stem-internships/
Missouri Works Training: – The Tax Credit Accountability Act Reporting Form must also be submitted to the Department of Revenue by June 30th each year the company receives tax credits and for the three years following the issuance of the tax credits. As the state’s number one incentive tool for expansion and retention, this program helps businesses access capital through withholdings or tax credits to embark on facility expansions and create jobs. This program can also help businesses purchase equipment to maintain its facility in Missouri. The Tax Credit Accountability Act Reporting Form must also be submitted to the Department of Revenue by June 30th each year the company receives tax credits and for the three years following the issuance of the tax credits. https://ded.mo.gov/programs/business/missouri-works
Other Grants: Dept. of Labor ETA: Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC). Award floor $150,000; ceiling $1,500,000. Application Deadline July 1. The WORC Initiative is designed to facilitate the alignment of workforce development efforts with existing economic development strategies in rural communities hard hit by economic transition and recovering slowly. The WORC Initiative provides grant funds to enable impacted communities to develop local and regional workforce development solutions aligned with existing economic development strategies and community partnerships to promote new, sustainable job opportunities and long-term economic vitality. These grants support workforce development activities that prepare dislocated workers, new entrants to the workforce, and incumbent workers for good jobs in high-demand occupations aligned with a regional or community economic development strategy. https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333025
Other Grants: National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources: EHR is a core NSF STEM education program that seeks to promote novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. The program is open to application from all institutions of higher education and associated organizations. NSF places high value on educating students to be leaders and innovators in emerging and rapidly changing STEM fields as well as educating a scientifically literate public. In pursuit of this goal, IUSE: EHR supports projects that seek to bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, that adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices into STEM teaching and learning, and that lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. In addition to innovative work at the frontier of STEM education, this program also encourages replication of research studies at different types of institutions and with different student bodies to produce deeper knowledge about the effectiveness and transferability of findings. https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21579/nsf21579.htm
Major Enhancements to Paperless Parts: See the Newest Features Yourself
June 24 | 11 AM
Maybe you’ve seen an overview of the industry’s leading quoting and estimating platform, but you probably haven’t seen the newest enhancements to the software that customers are calling “game-changing.” In this 25 minute presentation, you’ll see Advanced Analytics and Workflows– two new features that Paperless developed this year directly from customer feedback and beta testing. Stay for Q&A with Dean Tanner, Strategic Accounts Manager at Paperless Parts.
