PMPA / ITR Economics Forecast Report November 2022
While our shops continue to sell at elevated levels and schedule overtime to remain competitive on deliveries, the world is changing. Supply bottlenecks are easing, some input prices are declining, and the rate of Inflation seems to be declining as well. The markets that our shops serve are not yet in recession, but the rate of change of the rate of change is signaling slowing growth in Industrial production, housing starts, heavy truck and automotive. Light vehicle and Small arms are contrary to the general trend.
It is easy to be hypnotized by the incessant news about inflation, the FED, war in Europe, increasing tensions with China- there is much to fuel our worries. But as business people the data presented here remain a call to commonsense- make smart investments and maintain adequate cash, be disciplined on your receivables- so if something bubbles up in the constantly changing flow of bad news- it will not derail your plans.
The Institute for Trend Research (ITR) quarterly reports focus on major areas of economic growth and decline in key market segments for the Precision Machined Products Industry. They are provided to PMPA members as part of the association’s overall business intelligence program and are used as a management tool to help PMPA members plan for what lies ahead and which markets they should focus on in a complex manufacturing environment.