Airtech
Published

CW Business Index at 50.4 – First growth in two months

Steve Kline, Jr., the director of market intelligence for Gardner Business Media Inc. (Cincinnati, OH, US), the publisher of CompositesWorld magazine, outlines the results of the CompositesWorld Business Index survey for June 2015.

Share

With a reading of 50.4, the CompositesWorld Business Index for the US composites industry in June indicated expansion for the first time since March 2015. The rate of growth was slower than the growth recorded from November 2014 to March 2015, but at least the industry was growing again. The Index had been at its lowest level in May since August 2013. And compared with one year earlier, the Index for June, despite the uptick, continued to contract. On an annual basis, the US industry contracted in June at an accelerating rate for a second month.

A dramatic improvement in new orders was the key reason for the shift to growth from contraction in the overall Index. New orders had contracted at a moderate rate the previous two months. But in June new orders grew faster than its average in the previous year. Production moderately expanded in June. The rate of increase was unchanged from May. As a result, the backlog subindex contracted at a significantly slower rate in June. In fact, a slight uptrend in the backlog index has been tracked since February 2015. This was a sign that capacity utilization at US composites fabrication facilities should improve soon. Employment in June was essentially unchanged for the third month in a row. Exports contracted for the 12th straight month. The rate of contraction had generally accelerated since December 2014, which correlates with very strong growth in the value of the US dollar. Supplier deliveries lengthened at one of their slowest rates of 2015.

Since March, material prices had increased at a generally accelerating rate. However, the rate of increase in material prices in June was still less than at any time since November 2012. Prices received were unchanged in June after decreasing in May. Prices received had increased from December 2014 through April 2015. Future business expectations improved somewhat in June from May — they were about 5% above their historic average but also near their low to that point in 2015.

In May, all but the largest US composites fabricator categories contracted. In June, however, all but the smallest facilities group showed increases. Plants with more than 250 employees expanded for the second month in a row. Companies with 100-249 employees expanded for the third time in four months. Plants with 50-99 employees expanded for the second time in four months as did fabricators with 20-49 employees. All of these plants grew at a similar rate in June. Fabricators with 1-19 employees contracted for the fourth month in a row. The rate of contraction had been fairly consistent in all four months.

Regionally, the US Southeast was, by far, the fastest growing in June. In fact, its subindex was the second highest ever recorded for any region since the CWBI survey began in December 2011. The region expanded for the third time in four months. The North Central-East expanded for the sixth time in seven months, and the West also grew, but did so at a very modest rate. The South Central was flat in June after contracting sharply in May. The Northeast contracted in June for the sixth time in seven months. The North Central-West contracted at a very significant rate and for the second time in three months.

In June, future capital spending plans expected in the coming 12 months were less than 50% of their historic average. Compared with one year earlier, future spending plans had fallen off by 66%. June was the fourth month in a row those plans had contracted by at least 27%.

cut by an Eastman
Chem Trend
Airtech
KraussMaffei Metering Systems
Sysenqo high performance materials
NewStar Adhesives - Nautical Adhesives
CompositesWorld
Keyland Polymer
CW Tech Days Sustainability - Register Today!
HEATCON Composite Systems
A manufacturing puzzle
CompositesWorld

Related Content

Aerospace

Materials & Processes: Composites fibers and resins

Compared to legacy materials like steel, aluminum, iron and titanium, composites are still coming of age, and only just now are being better understood by design and manufacturing engineers. However, composites’ physical properties — combined with unbeatable light weight — make them undeniably attractive. 

Read More
Recycling

Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling

Suppliers, fabricators and OEMs across the composite wind blade supply chain ramp up existing technologies, develop better reclamation methods and design more recyclable wind blades.

Read More
Sustainability

Novel composite technology replaces welded joints in tubular structures

The Tree Composites TC-joint replaces traditional welding in jacket foundations for offshore wind turbine generator applications, advancing the world’s quest for fast, sustainable energy deployment.  

Read More
Wind/Energy

Drag-based wind turbine design for higher energy capture

Claiming significantly higher power generation capacity than traditional blades, Xenecore aims to scale up its current monocoque, fan-shaped wind blades, made via compression molded carbon fiber/epoxy with I-beam ribs and microsphere structural foam.

Read More

Read Next

Trends

CW’s 2024 Top Shops survey offers new approach to benchmarking

Respondents that complete the survey by April 30, 2024, have the chance to be recognized as an honoree.

Read More
Wind/Energy

Composites end markets: Energy (2024)

Composites are used widely in oil/gas, wind and other renewable energy applications. Despite market challenges, growth potential and innovation for composites continue.

Read More
Filament Winding

From the CW Archives: The tale of the thermoplastic cryotank

In 2006, guest columnist Bob Hartunian related the story of his efforts two decades prior, while at McDonnell Douglas, to develop a thermoplastic composite crytank for hydrogen storage. He learned a lot of lessons.

Read More
Kraussmaffei Metering Systems