November 2024 Volume 6

FIA LAUNCHES MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO HIGHLIGHT INDUSTRY’S FORGING CAPACITY FOR GOVERNMENT & DEFENSE COMPONENTS By Laura Johnson WASHINGTON UPDATE

O ver the past several years the belief that our members lack capacity within the defense and commercial arenas has become a commonplace theme when speaking with a Prime or the DOD. Even when responding in the affirmative on the topic, forgers inevitably receive the follow up, “are you sure?” Without a doubt, this has become a maddening trend, but a trend that FIA has prioritized their efforts to change perceptions and minds. But how did we arrive at this point? Like many products that came before, cheaper costs pushed production out of the United States, which drained our capabilities and capacity to turn an order around quickly. In search of the lowest price possible, the Primes and DOD inadvertently were partly to blame. In an effort to begin turning these opinions around, the FIA recently launched a PR campaign focused on forgers’ capacity. Over the next several months, our target audience will begin to see and feel the campaign through a combination of online advertising, social media and traditional press including op-eds and interviews. The campaign’s home can be found on FIA’s website, where the audience can view the campaign’s overview video, links to mentions in the press, facts and figures and the data that supports our assertion – U.S. forgers have the capacity to meet the moment.

at 85% (factoring in normal downtime and assuming sufficient operating capability). Over the period from 1972 to 2022, average capacity utilization in manufacturing was 78.2%, with utilization rates exceeding 90% only during wartime.

Given this, we can see that forgers in fact have the capacity to do additional defense and commercial work if it is available. With the campaign, it is our intention to push back against this misunderstanding and demonstrate that the forging industry has the capacity to produce all that is needed!

To lend credibility to the campaign, the FIA brought on Wipfli, a top 20 advisory and accounting firm, to conduct the member surveys that provide the hard data used throughout the campaign. Wipfli regularly conducts market research within the manufacturing industry to examine key trends, benchmarks, and forecast indicators. The Wipfli team carefully analyzed the data from the survey to complete this study. As of September, the average capacity of our forgers is at 51.2%. Our expected 2024 overall capacity utilization is 50%. Companies that are primarily doing defense industry work have the lowest capacity utilization at 41%. Full capacity utilization in manufacturing is accepted

Laura Johnson Government Affairs Director Forging Industry Association Email: Laura@forging.org Phone: 216-781-6260

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FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2024