CLEVELAND, OH—July 28, 2026—Metalforming manufacturers expect economic activity to remain largely unchanged over the next three months, according to the July 2026 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Prepared monthly, PMA’s report provides an economic indicator for the next three months of manufacturing, sampling 85 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada.
PMA’s July report shows that 65% of manufacturers surveyed expect no change in general economic activity in the next three months (compared to 62% in June), 24% predict an increase in activity (the same percentage reported last month) and 11% forecast a decrease in activity (compared to 14% in June).
The July report also reveals that metalformers anticipate little change in incoming orders over the next three months, with 48% of survey respondents expecting no change in orders (up from 45% in June), 34% predicting an increase in orders (compared to 35% in June) and 18% forecasting a decrease in orders (down from 20% in June).
Current average daily shipping levels softened slightly in July, with 40% of survey participants reporting an increase in current average daily shipping levels (down from 42% in June), 42% reporting no change (compared to 44% in June) and 18% reporting a decrease (up from 14% last month).
Workforce indicators also softened in July, with 6% of respondents reporting workers on short time or layoff (up from 1% in June), while the share of companies expanding their workforce fell to 46% (down from 54% last month). Lead times improved in July, with 20% of respondents reporting longer lead times (down from 24% in June).
“PMA’s July report reflects that metalformers remain resilient but are becoming increasingly cautious,” said Mark Getsay, PMA’s managing director. “Members are managing through supply-chain challenges, higher costs and changing tariff policies that complicate business planning, but most respondents continue to expect activity to remain steady as they carefully balance investment, hiring and production decisions.”
Full report results are available at https://surveys.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 value-added processes. Its more than 900 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 magazine.