12 minute read
Announcements/Releases
Manufacturing Engage 2021 — Registration Now Open
Register now for Manufacturing Engage 2021 — this year’s event will build on NTMA’s long legacy of providing precision manufacturers and industry leaders with the invaluable experience of gathering together to network, learn and advocate for the advancement and future of the industry. Don’t miss the chance to connect and engage IN-PERSON in Old Alexandria, VA this October!
Tell Congress NO to Tax Increases
Want to pay more taxes? Do nothing.
Congress is currently considering tax legislation that would raise taxes on manufacturers in the U.S. and reverse many of the positive impacts the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has had on the economy. One Voice fought hard and won with the passage of the TCJA, creating a tax code that incentivizes domestic manufacturing through lower rates and stronger investment provisions.
Without action from you Congress could soon pass tax increases including:
Limiting the Small Business Deduction (section 199A) Raising the top individual rate from 37% to 39.6% Raising the top corporate tax rate from 21% to 26.5% Increasing the effective top capital gains rate from 23.8% to 28.8% Reducing the estate tax exemption in 2022 (rather than 2026)
ACTION:
Your voice matters and Congress needs to hear from you on the negative consequences of raising taxes on U.S. manufacturers. Click here to contact your members of Congress TODAY and call on them to support American manufacturers by opposing tax increases in the budget reconciliation. For more information, visit www.metalworkingadvocate.org. If you have questions, please e-mail info@metalworkingadvocate.org.
September 2021 Business Conditions Report: Supply and Worker Shortages Create a Challenging Environment for Metalformers
Metalforming companies expect business conditions during the next three months to continue to prove challenging, according to the September 2021 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Prepared monthly, the report provides an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
PMA’s September report shows that only 26% of metalforming companies forecast an increase in economic activity in the next three months (decreasing from 29% in August and down 10% compared to July), 56% predict no change (compared to 57% last month) and 18% anticipate a decline in activity (increasing from 14% in August).
Sixty-one percent of respondents reported an increase in lead times, slightly down from 64% in August.
“The September PMA Business Conditions Report reflects the fact that members are facing continued uncertainties related to the supply of raw materials to meet demand, the ongoing chip shortages that are impacting large customers and the continued shortage of workers,” said PMA President David Klotz. “Lead times and skyrocketing prices for raw materials, particularly steel, but also for aluminum, copper, brass and other metals, continue to grow and now extend into 2022 in some cases. The difficulty in finding and maintaining skilled workers is also a major focus for PMA, with our association and members engaged in a proactive campaign to drive awareness about the great careers in our industry and programs to strengthen workforce training such as METALFORM EDU. Additionally, through our One Voice advocacy team in Washington, D.C., we continue to advocate to end the damaging Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs to help increase materials supply.”
Metalformers also expect a decrease in incoming orders in the next three months, with 35% forecasting an increase in orders (compared to 41% in August), 42% predicting no change (the same percentage as last month) and 23% anticipating a decrease in orders (compared to 17% in August).
Current average daily shipping levels remained fairly steady in September, with 49% reporting an increase (compared to 46% in August), 36% reporting no change (decreasing from 42% last month) and 15% reporting a decrease (compared to 12% in August).
Four percent of responding metalforming companies had a portion of their workforce on short time or layoff in September, compared to only 2% in August.
Full report results are available at https://www.pma. org/public/business_reports/pdf/BCREP.pdf.
PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming and roll forming technologies, and other valueadded processes. Its more than 850 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. PMA leads companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, FABTECH tradeshows, and MetalForming and 3D Metal Printing magazines.
A CONTROL FOR EVERY GENERATION.
The Hurco Control has the flexibility you need for the high mix of parts that comes through your shop.
Equally powerful for NC and Conversational Programming (with the added bonus of
NC/Conversational Merge), the Hurco Control reduces setup time so you can make more chips.
Whether you’re a baby boomer, a millennial, or a Gen X-er, time is money. Even though
Bob (left) and Charley (right) are from different generations, they are both machinists who appreciate the importance of CNC technology that’s designed to make shops more productive and more profitable. Check out their video series.
Watch the series at Hurco.com/mygeneration
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Paul Klein III joins LV Swiss Inc. as North American Sales & Marketing Manager
LV Swiss Inc. The Precision CNC Machining, Milling, Turning & Swiss Screw Machining Company announced today that it has hired Paul Klein III as the newly appointed North American Sales & Marketing Manager.
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Announcements Continued
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“Paul will be responsible for Sales Team leadership, driving revenue, as well as contributing to the Marketing and Business strategy of our company. His customer and supplier relationships will enable LV Swiss Inc. to continue to grow at the fast pace we have seen over the last 5 years. He will also be focusing on the Medical Vertical Markets leveraging our newly acquired ISO 13485 Medical Certification. Paul will be an integral part of developing our ongoing Sales & Marketing strategy.” said Richard Hoffman President of LV Swiss Inc.
LV Swiss is a provider of precision CNC Machining, Milling, Turning & Swiss Screw Machining Services for manufacturing companies in North America. LV Swiss manufacturers a wide variety of products and they provide technical and sales expertise on several metals, alloys, and other commodities. LV Swiss Inc. offers supply-chain and logistics solutions to a variety of market segments including Aerospace & Defense, Medical, Communication Connectors, Industrial Controls, Automotive and Transportation services. They are one of the Top Sales Producing Machine Shops in Southern Utah.
Paul Klein III recently attended the MDM Show in Anaheim California representing LV Swiss and their Medical Product offerings. LV Swiss was awarded the ISO 13485 Medical device Certification in June of 2021.
5 Reasons to Attend the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo
Registration is now open for the 2021 Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo (AMC+E). The event takes place October 12-14 at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, hometown to Additive Manufacturing Media as well as Modern Machine Shop. Attendees and media can register now at additiveconference.com.
If your business is applying or evaluating 3D printing technology for production, then the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo is for you. Here are 5 great reasons to attend:
Focus on production. With a program curated by the editors of Additive Manufacturing Media, the AMC+E focuses on industrial applications for 3D printing, specifically the use of this technology for making end-use parts. Presentations will focus on AM for production and cover issues such as automation, postprocessing and supply chain concerns in addition to the part-making process. Registration also
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Announcements Continued includes access to conference proceedings.
Expanded show floor. This year’s expanded exhibit hall will feature more booths and companies than ever before. Equipment suppliers will be on hand, but so will many capable users of 3D printing technology. For the business owner who is interested in additive manufacturing but not yet ready to take the plunge, the Expo will be a chance to meet with service providers and assess specific needs or applications.
Networking opportunities. There will be ample opportunity to meet with industry experts, technology providers, business owners and more in between the technical sessions. Registration includes lunch as well as access to the opening and grand receptions. Learn from fellow attendees and connect with the people driving additive manufacturing forward.
Co-located event. This year’s AMC+E is co-located with the inaugural Top Shops Expo + Conference, an extension of the Top Shops Benchmarking programs conducted by Additive Manufacturing’s sister publications Modern Machine Shop, Plastics Technology, Products Finishing and CompositesWorld. In addition to a program focused on supply chain solutions for the North American durable goods manufacturing sector, Top Shops will also feature a sourcing pavilion highlighting leading contract manufacturers and more. Register or find more details at additiveconference.com.
Manufacturing Optimism Cools from Record Highs, NAM Survey Finds
The latest survey from the National Association of Manufacturers shows that manufacturing optimism remained high in the third quarter of 2021, despite significant pressure from supply and labor bottlenecks.
On NAM’s Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the third quarter of 2021, published September 9, 52% of surveyed companies said their business outlook is “somewhat positive,” while an additional 36% said they are “very positive.” In all, 88% of respondents said conditions are at least somewhat positive, down only slightly from June’s 90.1%.
Based on the results, NAM set its manufacturing outlook index to 58.4%. The revised index for June’s report was 60.2%.
More than a quarter of respondents said they expected sales and production, respectively, to increase by more than 10%, while a plurality of responses for both questions expected growth between 5-10% for both measures. Roughly 20% of companies anticipated growth less than 5%, for both measures of manufacturing health.
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Announcements Continued Based on the optimistic figures, with 83% expecting at least slight sales increases and 79% expecting similar production increases, NAM predicted sales would grow by 5.64% and production would grow 5.4% on average over the next twelve months.
Breaking the results down by company size, small manufacturer optimism grew while medium and large manufacturers hedged their expectations somewhat. Positive outlooks among smaller manufacturers—companies with fewer than 50 employees, in NAM’s terms—rose about 3 points in the third quarter to 83.1%, while medium-sized manufacturers reporting good conditions fell 2.5 points to 88.6%.
Large-company optimism hit 88.1%, down 8.4 points from its June figure of 96.5%, an all-time high.
Despite the optimism on display in the survey, manufacturers are not without problems, many of them longstanding. On a list of business challenges, 86.4% of surveyed companies said they were having trouble with increased raw material costs, and more than 90% of respondents said they expected those prices to continue climbing. NAM estimated raw materials prices would rise about 6.48% based on those results.
Eighty percent of companies said they were having trouble attracting and retaining a quality workforce, even as 68.2% said they expected to increase full-time employment. Workforce shortages were seen by 81.5% of respondents as the biggest risk to the current economic outlook. Other current business challenges listed by manufacturers included supply chain difficulties (79.8%), transportation and logistics costs (69.1%), rising health care or insurance costs (52.2%) and unfavorable business climate (41.2%).
While less than 50% listed listed taxes and regulations as a primary business challenge, most manufacturers agreed that increased taxes on income from manufacturing activities would have a detrimental effect on their business. Nine out of ten said increased taxes would hinder hiring, wage increases, new equipment investments and expanded facilities.
In a statement released September 9, the same day as the survey, NAM CEO Jay Timmons said that tax increases proposed by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo would cause 1 million jobs lost in two years.
Timmons also noted that manufacturing wages have grown significantly over the last few years, including by 2.8% in 2019 and 3% in 2020. The September survey predicts wages will rise by 3.5% in the year to come, which would be a record high for the survey.
Rising COVID-19 cases, including due to the delta mutation of the virus, were seen as potentially perilous by just under 50%. More than half, 58.6%, of firms say their revenue has already returned to pre-pandemic levels.
