Jason Sandefur

Capital expenditures dropped off slightly for the second straight year as facility and equipment investments decreased to 3.2 in the FIN Survey Capital Expenditure Index during 2006. In 2004 fastener industry spending on investments jumped to 3.4.
About three in 10 respondents reported moderate to strong increases in capital expenditures during 2006, while only 11.5% reported a decline in investment spending. Just over 16% left capital spending unchanged.
Once again distributors outspent their manufacturing counterparts in 2006, with 37.9% reporting increases compared with 22.2% of manufacturers. A majority 51.7% of distributors maintained stable capital expenditure levels in 2006, while 51.9% of manufacturers left investments unchanged.
Distributors” capital investment dipped to 3.4 on the expenditure index, while the index for manufacturers declined to 3.0, much lower than the 3.5 level forecasted at the beginning of 2006.
Roughly 38% of distributors forecast boosting their capital budget in 2007, down from the five in 10 distributors who predicted investment increases in 2006. About 31% of distributors will hold their current investment level steady this year, while 27.5% anticipate spending cuts. Among manufacturers 37% predict investment increases, with 48.1% holding the line of future expenses and 14.8% slashing spending.
A 41% majority of companies plan to keep capital spending stable in 2007. Just over 36% planned to boost their spending in 2007, while nearly 20% expect to cut their capital budget. \ �2007 FastenerNews.com