Forging and Stamping
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 2,000 forging and stamping companies in the US produce a variety of metal-based products that are typically used as parts or components in assembled items. Major revenue categories include stamped metal products, forged metal products, custom roll forming products, and powder metallurgy products. Services may include design engineering, machining, part assembly, and finishing (such as cleaning, welding, or deburring).
Dependence On Manufacturing Activity And The Economy
Demand for forged and stamped products is driven by manufacturing volume, which is vulnerable to changes in economic conditions.
Capital-Intensive
The forging and stamping industry is highly capital-intensive and requires significant investment in plants, property, and equipment, such as presses, hammers, conveyers and furnaces.
Industry size & Structure
The average forging or stamping manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs 44 workers, and generates $16 million annually.
- The forging and stamping industry consists of about 2,000 firms that employ 90,800 workers and generate about $33 billion annually.
- The industry is somewhat concentrated at the top and fragmented at the bottom; the top 50 companies account for 47% of industry revenue.
- Metal stamping firms account for 36% of industry revenue and 60% of firms; forging firms account for 35% of revenue and 18% of firms; custom roll forming firms account for 22% of revenue and 16% of firms; powder metallurgy manufacturers account for the remainder.
- Large companies with stamping and forging operations include Mueller Industries and Park Ohio Holdings. Large firms may have international operations. Most forging plants are small or medium-sized companies.
- Some large customers, such as automobile or aircraft manufacturers, are vertically-integrated and have internal forging and stamping operations.
Industry Forecast
Forging and Stamping Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 6, 2023 - USPS Electrifying Fleet
- The US Postal Service has awarded a contract to purchase 9,250 Ford E-Transit left-hand-drive battery electric vehicles (BEVs), Stamping Journal reported in March. In addition to the BEVs, the USPS said it will buy 14,000 EV charging stations as part of its plans to electrify a large portion of its mail delivery fleet. In December, USPS announced its plans to add 66,000 electric vehicles to its fleet by 2028. The postal service says that it expects to invest around $9.6 billion in its electrification initiative and almost every vehicle it buys after 2026 to be electric. Automotive stamping companies are poised to benefit from the accelerated growth of the US market for BEVs as automotive metal stamping is a popular manufacturing method for electric vehicles due to its ability to produce a high volume of identical, complex parts that meet tight specifications.
- Smaller manufacturers needn’t miss out on the opportunities and benefits of automation as the floor space required to accommodate robots shrinks, Modern Machine Shop (MMS) reports. The growing market for affordable, space-saving robots and pre-engineered robotic work cells enables shops that are tight on floor space to optimize workflows and deliver high consistency, efficiency and quality. Today’s robots boast smaller space requirements, with compact and lightweight six-axis robots that can be mounted close to workpieces and machines in existing lines and cells. Robots deployed for machine tending can improve throughput and operational safety while maximizing overall equipment effectiveness. Smaller robots can also be deployed for secondary operations such as trimming, laser cutting, laser marking, and deburring, according to MMS. Robots can help shops overcome challenges such as evolving customer requirements, supply chain issues, and labor shortages while elevating workforce productivity and maintaining fluid operations.
- US auto sales are expected to rebound this year as a recovery in vehicle production will more than offset the effects of inflation and rising interest rates, the Los Angeles Times reports. After two years of semiconductor shortages and supply chain disruptions that limited production, automakers are ramping up production. The US auto industry is expected to grow by more than 1 million vehicles this year to about 15 million units. By comparison, total sales for 2022 probably were below 14 million units, the lowest level since 2011, when the country was emerging from the depths of the Great Recession. Despite high prices and auto loan rates keeping some consumers out of the new car market, vehicle shortages over the past two years are believed to have kept between 4 million and 7 million consumers from buying, creating plenty of pent up demand to fuel vehicle sales this year.
- Metalforming companies anticipate a slight uptick in business conditions in the first quarter of 2023, according to the December 2022 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. PMA’s December report shows that 10% of metalforming companies predict an increase in general economic activity in the first quarter, 57% expect no change in activity, and a third predict a decrease in activity. Current average daily shipping levels declined for the third straight month in December, with 39% of respondents reporting a decrease in shipping levels, 42% reporting no change, and only 19% reporting an increase. “A majority of our members are reporting that they continue to face headwinds going into the new year,” said PMA President David Klotz, adding “Metalformers are still experiencing supply-chain challenges … and some sectors/industries continue to be affected negatively by higher interest rates.”
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