It’s the start of a new year and a great time to set new goals for your fabrication shop. You may want to focus on securing new contracts, or you may want to increase the shop output and efficiency of your existing product manufacturing line. Whatever your goals are, you will want to find out where they fit into the industry growth and spending predictions for 2014.
Thefabricator.com published a metal fabrication industry forecast for 2014. Below are the highlights that we found interesting:
– There’s good news for auto-industry manufacturers; Edmunds.com has predicted that American auto sales will reach 16.4 million this year. (This is the highest sales have been since 2007).
– Survey results from the 2014 Capital Spending Forecast (compiled by The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International) were released at Chicago’s FABTECH. The survey found that metal fabrication equipment spending has been increasing and will finally pass numbers prior to the recession.
– The highest spending projections for this year are attributed to automotive parts manufacturers, machinery manufacturers (including construction and agriculture equipment), and commercial HVAC equipment manufacturing. Next in line is contract metal fabrication shops of all sizes.
– Fabricators are expected to spend around $286 million on forming equipment followed by $231 million on laser cutting machines.
– 57% of survey respondents projected that that their shops will be operating at higher levels in 2014. This is a large improvement from the previous year’s survey which found that the majority of respondents had expected their operations to stay the same.
The article also highlights that most fabricators suffer from longer cycle times during metal bending; the long set up times slow down production and cost you money. If you are one of the fabrication companies looking to target spending on bending machines then you should consider investing in a SafanDarley E-Brake. The SafanDarley servo-electronic press brake cuts bending cycle times by 30%, offers up to 50% in energy savings, and significantly increases bending accuracy.
>>Need some help reaching your fabrication goals for 2014? Contact Westway Machinery and let us help you find the right machine for your shop or come and visit our warehouse to see the huge inventory of machines we have on display.
