May 2026 Volume 8

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

2026 FORGING PERFORMANCE LOOKING UP By Nicole Jaeckel

Pulse Barometer for North American Manufacturers Wipfli recently completed the first 2026 Manufacturing Pulse study with over 300 total participants. The study was conducted in January and February 2026. Study respondents varied in size, ranging from less than $5M to over $75M annually. Wipfli had respondents from every U.S. region, Canada, and Mexico, with most respondents from the Midwest. Participation continues to increase with representation from forgers, metalformers, die casters, plastics processors, tool builders, gear manufacturers, bearing manufacturers and fasteners. With continued participation from FIA members, forgers make up about 5% of our respondent pool on average. Respondents sell into all industries, with the largest being automotive at 48%, agriculture at 24%, and heavy truck at 21%. Forging top industries were defense with 43%, commercial aerospace 33%, and agriculture and off highway at 33%. 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. Respondents can be included in up to 3 industries so the values do not add up to 100%. Other includes material handling, lighting and electrical, renewable energy, lawn and garden, packaging, consumer electronics, sports and recreation, home and office, and marine.

Respondents More Optimistic About 2026 The study measures how businesses are feeling about their profit levels, utilization, revenue, and backlog. Manufacturers are more optimistic at the beginning of 2026 (54%) than in Q3 of 2025 (40%). Manufacturers are typically more optimistic in the first quarter of each year, it’s a common sentiment that a new year will bring fewer challenges and more work, even without data to back up that feeling. Top concerns like higher cost of doing business, raw materials tariffs, and continued inflation still plague manufacturers and remain top of mind during Q1. For the past three years the top five concerns have remained steady boiling down to the higher cost of doing business as the main concern. Tariffs: A Continued Concern This study was completed prior to the IEEPA tariffs being removed, but questions related to the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on IEEPA tariffs will be asked in our next study. Manufacturers continue to bring up the massive amounts of transaction waste that is being generated from constantly changing tariff rules and supply chain challenges. The impact is not just in the cost of imports, but also in the time spent verifying HTS codes, checking invoices, and shipments sitting at borders.

More respondents in Q1 2026 saw a significant increase in costs due to raw material tariffs than in Q3 2025. However, less respondents saw no impact or moderately increased costs in Q1 2026. The shift to significantly increased costs is impacting almost 10% more respondents in Q1 versus Q3 2025. Despite some uncertainty in the marketplace, quoting has continued to increase from Q3 2025 to Q1 2026. Industries such as aerospace, defense, and industrial machinery saw increases with quoting levels performing better than expected. OEMs were market testing both timing and price in 2025 and continue that trend in Q1 2026.

Respondents can be included in up to 3 industries so the values do not add up to 100%. Other includes material handling, lighting and electrical, renewable energy, lawn and garden, packaging, consumer electronics, sports and recreation, home and office, and marine.

FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2026 54