MOLDMAKING REPORT: Global report shows common problems
Canadian Plastics
A report on world business conditions in the tooling sector as reported by 15 countries attending the International Special Tooling & Machining Association (ISTMA) meeting in May demonstrated that man...
A report on world business conditions in the tooling sector as reported by 15 countries attending the International Special Tooling & Machining Association (ISTMA) meeting in May demonstrated that many countries are experiencing similar shortages of skilled workers and unfavorable payment conditions, but steady orders.
The U.S. industry appears to have been in the worst shape, with plant utilization at 78 percent, and profits decreasing. Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Japan, Germany and Belgium also reported that either plant utilization or orders booked were decreasing.
Most countries reported that delivery times are decreasing.
On the positive side, orders were “good” or “steady” in Argentina, Canada, Finland, France, Italy and Portugal.
Les Payne, president of Universal Pattern Co. (Cambridge, ON), attended the meeting as Canada’s ISTMA representative, and released the report on international business conditions through the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association. A full conference report is available from the CTMA office, 519-653-7265.
