CLEVELAND, OH—March 30, 2026—Metalforming manufacturers’ economic predictions softened over the next three months, according to the March 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 March report shows that 64% of manufacturers surveyed expect no change in general economic activity in the next three months (compared to 53% in February), 28% predict an increase in activity (compared to 41% last month) and 8% forecast a decrease in activity (up from 6% in February).
Metalformers also anticipate stable incoming orders in the next three months, with 51% of survey respondents predicting an increase in orders (compared to 57% in February), 45% expecting no change (compared to 41% last month) and 4% forecasting a decrease in orders (up from 2% in February).
Shipping levels in March rose for the third month in a row. Forty-six percent of metalformers surveyed reported an increase in current average daily shipping levels in March (up from 34% in February), 48% reported no change (compared to 50% last month) and only 6% reported a decrease in shipping levels (down from 16% in February).
In addition, the survey showed that 6% of respondents had workers on short time or layoff in March, increasing from 2% in February, while 39% are currently expanding their workforce (up from 33% last month). Lead times remained steady with 12% of respondents reporting an increase in lead times, compared to 11% in February.
PMA issued the following statement about the March Business Conditions Report:
“Metalforming manufacturers were already facing higher costs than many overseas competitors before recent developments in the Middle East further increased prices and injected new uncertainty into the global marketplace. Manufacturers are also watching potential trade developments this summer, including uncertainty around the future of the USMCA and the possibility of new tariffs on machinery stemming from the Section 301 investigation. The data suggest that members are closely tracking how these intersecting factors could affect operations and investment 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.