February 2026 Volume 8

INDUSTRY NEWS

FORGING PRODUCERS' 2026 PERFORMANCE WILL VARY By Nicole Jaeckel

Pulse Barometer for North American Manufacturers Wipfli recently completed the last 2025 Manufacturing Pulse study with nearly 300 total participants. The size of the respondents varied from less than $5M annually to over $75M annually. While most respondents were from the Midwest, we had representation from every U.S. region, Canada, and Mexico. Wipfli has continued to increase our respondent base with new association partnerships, as well as individual manufacturers. We have representation from metalforming, die casting, plastics processors, mold builders, fasteners, suppliers, and forgers. For reference, forgers make up about 5% of our respondent pool for all manufacturing. Respondents sell into all industries, with the largest being automotive. Although automotive is still the largest industry, the data shows manufacturers are continuing to diversify outside of automotive, allowing Wipfli to analyze data across a broader set of industries.

The Manufacturing Index is intended to provide a quick look at the overall expansion or contraction of the industry from a forward-looking perspective. The index is calculated with a maximum total of 100 points. Tariffs: A Major Concern The study dug into the impact of tariffs on manufacturers. Respondents overwhelmingly stated there would be an impact on business and that tariffs will play a part in business decisions for the foreseeable future. Analysts further examined how tariffs are impacting businesses. 55% of respondents said that tariffs were moderately increasing costs, with 14% reporting a significant increase in costs. We then asked the question specifically about China and found that the tariff impact was mostly surrounding delayed work. We further validated that by having conversations with different manufacturers and found that OEMs and Tier 1s were putting packages on hold due to China tariffs. The impact was that part of a package was coming out of China, and with the increased costs and uncertainty, it made more sense for the OEM/ Tier 1 to put the entire package on hold rather than source those pieces coming from China in North America. This led to increases in work on hold, as well as further uncertainty about forecasting.

Other includes appliance, consumer electronics, home & garden, electrical, marine, renewable energy, and sports & rec.

Less than Half Respondents Optimistic about 2025 The study measures how businesses are feeling about their profit levels, utilization, revenue, and backlog with the Manufacturing Index. Currently, most manufacturers feel worse about the end of 2025 (Index of 53) than they did at the beginning of 2025 (Index of 57). Additionally, the study collects manufacturing leaders’ top concerns and how those may be impacting business. Throughout 2025, the top concerns have continued to be higher cost of doing business, raw material tariffs, continued inflation, price pass throughs, and a U.S. recession. For the past three years, we have seen these top concerns repeatedly except for raw material tariff, which was a new concern this year.

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2026 54