Two-thirds of Quebec manufacturers tell survey that business will increase in 2010

Almost two-thirds of respondents to a Quebec manufacturing survey anticipate business activity increasing in the next 12 months.

The survey, conducted by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), was designed to gather information about the economic outlook of manufacturers in Quebec, their spending plans for the future and their views on the recovery of the industry. The survey was conducted to current pre-registrants of the Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show (MMTS), past attendees and manufacturing professionals from the SME Quebec database.

The study reveals that, while the recent economic downturn had a significant negative impact on their operations, 64.4% of respondents anticipate business activity increasing in the next 12 months.

“It’s clear from the survey data that optimism in the economic recovery continues to strengthen in key regional manufacturing sectors including aerospace, energy, mining, agri-food and transportation,” said Nick Samain, event manager at SME. “We’re seeing hard evidence of this upward trend, particularly in the aerospace sector with the recent string of major deals announced from market leaders including Bombardier, GE, CAE, Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter.”

The survey results also indicated that 37.4% have an excess of $100,000 to spend on manufacturing equipment over the next 12 months, with 22% having over $250,000, and 7.5% over $1 million. Also, 48.9% see their manufacturing equipment expenditures increasing in the near future.

Running from May 17-19 at Place Bonaventure in Montreal, MMTS is designed to showcase products ranging from machine tools, fabricating equipment, automation, tooling, design engineering and plant maintenance.

For more information about MMTS, visit this link.