Conveyor industry: CEMA report says booked orders jumped 27% in June

In its latest monthly report, the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reported that its June 2010 Booked Orders Index was 167. That index in June is up 36 points or 27% from May 2010’s index of 131 (1990=100). The June 2010 index represents an increase of 53% from the June 2009 index of 109.

The organization’s baseline calculation uses the year 1990 as a comparison.  Numbers to the right of the equation show the current state of the conveyor industry as compared to 1990.  Therefore, anything above 100 indicates growth, while anything less indicates a contraction in the industry.

Does this mean that the conveyor industry is out of the economic woods and on a steady incline? In an interview with Modern, Bob Reinfried, CEMA’s executive vice president, said he was very pleased with the recent report, and cautiously optimistic about the future. “Obviously [these numbers] show a great improvement,” he said, “but I don’t have a good feel for lies ahead of us right now.”

While Reinfried admitted CEMA saw good numbers in June, he also explained that it’s too early to tell if we should expect the numbers to continue to climb.

The 12-month Index for Booked Orders was 117 in June. The index in June represents an increase of 4% from May 2010’s 12-month index of 112.

The CEMA Billed Sales (shipments) index was 134 in June. The index in June represents an increase of 14% from May 2010’s Index of 117. The June 2010 index represents an increase of 10% from the June 2009 index of 122.

The 12-month Index for Billed Sales was 111 in June. That index in June represents an increase of 1% from May 2010’s 12-month index of 110.

Like the temporary census workers skewing the national employment figures, was there something happening in the conveyor industry that caused the June spike?  Reinfried says it’s too early to tell.

“Next month will tell us whether this is a trend or whether there was something that caused a bump in the numbers,” said Reinfried. 

Not only will the organization have another set of monthly numbers on hand, but CEMA will host its Fall Meeting and hear reports from each member company.  Reinfried believes these reports will give a better sense of whether or not the industry is experiencing true growth. 

Last month Reinfried told Modern that CEMA is forecasting an increase of 2% to 3% for the overall North American conveyor market in 2010.  This month’s report certainly supports an increase.  Next month’s reports will add clarity.

CEMA’s Fall Meeting is in Chicago in September.