Jason Sandefur

For the fourth straight year, the level of capital expenditures continued to drop in 2008. Facility and equipment investments slipped to 3.0 in the FIN Survey Capital Expenditure Index from 3.05 in 2007.
Capital expenditures have not risen since 2004, when the index reached 3.4.
About 33% of respondents reported moderate to strong increases in capital investment during 2008, while 34.7% maintained current spending levels and 30.6% trimmed their budgets to rein in costs.
Manufacturer and distributor investment was nearly even, with 34% of manufacturers reporting capital spending increases compared with 33.3% of distributors.
About 38% of distributors maintained current capital investment levels, compared with 30% of manufacturers. More than 25% of respondents from both groups slashed investment in 2008.
Distributors” capital investment index grew to 3.1 in 2008, compared with 2.96 the previous year. The index for manufacturers dipped to 2.9 from 3.1 in 2007.
A 47.2% majority of companies plan to lower their current rate of capital spending in 2009, while 31.9% anticipate no increases and 12.5% plan to boost investment amid a challenging global economic climate.
Nearly six in 10 manufacturers intend to slash their capital budget in 2009, while 28% anticipate level spending and 18% plan to increase investment.
Just over 28% of distributors foresee lower capital spending this year, with 38.5% projecting no change and 23.1% expecting to boost investment. �2009 FastenerNews.com