Seventy-nine percent of metalcasters have a positive business outlook for the next 12 months, down from a full 90 percent in June, according to a new survey from the American Foundry Society.
This optimism comes despite 87 percent of respondents saying they expect a recession to hit the U.S. by 2023.
The Metalcasters Quarterly Outlook Survey from AFS measures current business conditions for U.S. metalcasters and gauges their economic outlook for the next year.
The 3rd quarter survey, conducted in the first half of September 2022, found top concerns for metalcasters are worker shortages and inflation, followed by component shortages and workforce training. Thirty-eight percent of responding metalcasters said the worker shortage had eased over the past six months, while the rest have seen no improvement.
Sixty-one percent of metalcasters expect to increase their company’s head count over the next 12 months, the survey found.
“Metalcasters are doing all that it takes to produce the highly engineered castings that are needed for our modern way of life and national defense,” said Doug Kurkul, CEO of AFS. “Despite the worker shortage, rising costs, supply-chain disruptions, and other challenges, metalcasters are reporting strong demand for castings and remain cautiously optimistic about the next 12 months. Additionally, nine of every 10 foundries are also making capital investments this year, another signal of a bright future.”
To view this quarter’s survey results in full, click here.