Kyocera MA90
The Precision Machined Parts Industry's Leading Information Resource
Subscribe
Published

Precision Machining Index Up on the Return of Employees

Hiring activity lifts overall index.
#columns

Michael Guckes

Former Chief Economist & Director of Analytics, Gardner Intelligence

Share

Read Next

The Gardner Business Intelligence (GBI) Precision Machining Index rose 5 points during October to end at 61.3. (See last month’s reading.) Four of the Index’s six components registered quickening expansion during the month, led by employment with an 11-point gain and closely followed by smaller expansionary readings for new orders and production. Supplier deliveries activity reported its sixth consecutive month above a reading of 80. Both the duration and amplitude of such readings is unprecedented in the history of the index and confirms that supply chain challenges have been — and will remain — the most significant problems for the industry in 2022.

Precision Machining Index: The Precision Machining Index signaled increasing expansion in business activity in October, driven largely by elevated employment and supplier delivery activity readings.

Precision Machining Index: The Precision Machining Index signaled increasing expansion in business activity in October, driven largely by elevated employment and supplier delivery activity readings.

Among all manufacturing disciplines, production machinists have reported the narrowest production gap among all manufacturing disciplines tracked by GBI. This gap — measured as the difference between new orders and production readings — widened during the two preceding months before closing almost completely in October. The narrowness of this gap may in part explain why backlog activity since 2Q2021 has registered less aggressive levels of expansion relative to many other manufacturing disciplines.

Employment Increase a Good Omen: For the fourth time in YTD-2021, employment activity registered above 60, implying strong payroll growth among production machinists. Increasing payrolls should pay dividends to production levels and eventually reduce the year’s accumulated backlogs.

Employment Increase a Good Omen: For the fourth time in YTD-2021, employment activity registered above 60, implying strong payroll growth among production machinists. Increasing payrolls should pay dividends to production levels and eventually reduce the year’s accumulated backlogs.

Your participation will enable Gardner Intelligence to accurately report on the magnitude and duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

Finding reliable and relevant data to help guide your business is always important, but especially so during challenging economic times. For this reason, the GBI Precision Machining Index serves as a great tool for making data-driven decisions. Thank you to everyone who has completed our GBI surveys. Your participation helped increase response counts by 15% in 2020, making the GBI better than ever because of your involvement. Thank you for your time and efforts, and for trusting us to provide you with the latest industry and business insights both in the past and in the future.

Your participation enables the best and most accurate reporting for the precision machining. Print subscribers, be sure to complete your mailed survey. If you are not a print subscriber, you can subscribe for free to Production Machining here.

RELATED CONTENT

  • Is the German Apprenticeship Model the Answer for U.S. Manufacturing?

    This machine tool builder president and CEO is an ardent proponent of the German apprenticeship model and believes this concept could be applied here in the United States to address the skilled labor shortage.

  • What Machine Shops Should Know About Material Bar Straightness

    Many operations require a high degree of bar straightness, especially when the material is to be presented to a machine by a bar feeder. For that sector of the market, the following is a brief review of the steps your bar supplier can take to ensure positive results.

  • Four Human Capital Trends for 2021

    One thing is for certain in 2021, changes around human capital are inevitable. In a competitive business environment, the key for leaders within our organizations is to embrace changes as effectively as possible.

Kyocera MA90