The PTDA Business Index for the first quarter of 2013 has been released, and it’s showing that the power transmission/motion control industry has expanded for 12 quarters in a row.
So what’s the PTDA Business Index? The Power Train Distributors Association partners with Cleveland Research Company to survey the industry each quarter. The responses to the survey are combined with economic forecasts to get an overall picture of the health of the industry.
A number of factors are considered for major players in the PT/MC industry:
- overall business activity
- new orders
- employment figures
- supplier deliveries
- inventories
- prices
- backlog
- end market forecasts
The index measures the speed of change or growth. A reading of 50 means there has been no change. Numbers over 50 show expansion, while numbers under 50 indicate contraction. The most recent figure, 61.1, which is a significant increase over last quarter’s reading of 50.7, shows that the rate of change is increasing. In 2011, we were seeing numbers as high as 85.5.
Of course, things had been glum for a while before that.
Analysts agree that this is a good sign — for our industry and for the economy overall.