SPRING 2016

48 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

48 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK GLOBALFASTENERNEWS.COM by JOHN WOLZ EDITOR editor@globalfastenernews.com END OF 2015 FIN SURVEY: MODERATE FASTENER SALES & PROFIT GAINS Last year was neither the best or worst of times for U.S. fastener companies. After four consecutive years of widespread sales and profit increases, the End of 2015 FIN Survey found revenue gains tightened last year. Sales Nearly 60% of survey respondents reported higher sales, with nearly 40% of those gains described as "moderate" in 2015. One out of four fastener companies reported similar revenue to the previous year, while 15% of fastener companies reported "moderate" sales declines in 2015. Profit About 58% of fastener manufacturers, importers, distributors and platers reported increased profit, with 37% claiming "moderate" bottom-line gains and 21% reporting a "strong" profit increase. Just over 21% said profits were unchanged from the year before, and 18% reported declining profit. Costs The End of 2015 FIN Survey found costs moderated, with 52% of participants reporting flat or declining costs, while an additional 43% claimed "moderate" cost increases. Capital Expenditures And 46% of fastener companies reported a "moderate" to "strong" increase in capital expenditures during 2015, while an additional 34% kept investment levels unchanged from the previous year. About 15% of respondents cut capital expenditures in 2015. Company Performance And for the third consecutive year, the FIN Company Performance Index dipped in 2015, dropping to 6.8 from 6.9 the previous year. Prices About 39% of fastener businesses successfully raised prices in 2015, though the increases were more moderate than the previous year. Price increases ranged from 1% to 13%, with an average increase of 4.6%. For 2016, prices are likely to stay unchanged or increase slightly. About 48% of FIN Survey respondents predict no price gains, while 41% foresee moderate increases and 9% expect moderate price decreases. Operating Capacity Fastener manufacturers reported operating at a range from 60% of capacity to 100% in 2015, with an average of 62% — down from 70.5% average capacity in 2014. Workforce The pace of job growth in the fastener industry slowed in 2015. About 51% of fastener companies expanded their workforce last year, down from 61% of fastener companies that added jobs in 2014. Just under 20% reported job growth under 5% in 2015, while 32% of companies reported workforce growth of 5% or greater. About 38% of FIN Survey respondents kept their hiring levels unchanged in 2015. Just under one in 10 survey participants (9%) cut jobs last year, up from the 6% of FIN Survey respondents who reported job cuts in 2014. Nearly eight in 10 fastener companies (78%) do not predict expanding their workforce in 2016, while 16% anticipate adding jobs. Wage increases continued in 2015, with 68% of survey respondents reporting pay raises, down from the 83% who granted raises the previous year. The majority of wage gains (68%) were in the 1% to 4% range for 2015. About 64% of FIN Survey respondents predict pay hikes in 2016. BUSINESS FOCUS ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 130