Intensity of Challenges Ease as US Mold Manufacturers Look to New Opportunities

Over the last year, United States mold manufacturers have continued to face a varied landscape of challenges; however, the intensity of these challenges has somewhat eased over the course of the last 12 months.

One such data point is pulled from the American Mold Builders Association’s (AMBA) newly released 2024 AMBA Wage & Salary Report, which cited the slowing rise of wages and salaries across the U.S. workforce, falling to its lowest percentage increase since 2019.

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Source | AMBA

Another example can be pulled from the 2024 AMBA Shop Rate Report, which — despite the low percentage increase in average wages — saw American mold manufacturers raising service rates by an average of 6% (well over the one percent cited from 2023 data).

One would think that the slower rise in wages and increased shop rates would assist U.S. mold manufacturers in cash flow and overall profitability; however, as one respondent submitted last summer, the cost of “Every. Single. Thing.” continued to rise, challenging the average U.S. mold manufacturer’s ability to improve bottom-line profits.

The challenge of profitability (particularly in 2024) is made clearer by a deep dive into last year’s economic conditions, which included high inflation rates, rising consumer prices, elevated overhead, higher labor costs and economic uncertainty due to the coming 2024 U.S. presidential election. Executives also signaled that, at the time, many customers were withholding or pausing work, particularly in the automotive industry.

Moving forward, however, early data from the 2025 AMBA Business Forecast Survey points to shifting conditions and some optimism. For example, although capacity utilization hovered around 71% in July 2024, current capacity utilization has risen to an average of 73% and is anticipated to rise to 77% over the next quarter. Respondents serving the aerospace, aircraft, medical, dental and optical industries are largely optimistic and anticipate rising revenue in 2025, while those serving the consumer products and automotive industry largely believe that conditions will improve or stay the same.

Mold manufacturers are also turning to the conditions that they can control, including investment and continuous improvement opportunities, as well as new business development. For instance, not only are over two-thirds of respondents¹ researching and/or planning to diversify their customer base by pursuing work in new industries (with the highest respondent percentage focused on defense, military, aerospace and/or aircraft); one-quarter of AMBA survey respondents are updating or purchasing equipment and/or expanding their facilities, while another third are focused on strategic sales goals and workforce development efforts.

Of note in this year’s survey are the number of respondents (over a quarter) prioritizing continuous improvement and/or lean initiatives. When asked to detail these internal projects, responses ranged from equipment improvement and investment to streamlining information, improving training processes, implementing more automation and a myriad of other projects.

¹Because data collection for the 2025 AMBA Business Forecast Survey was still in progress at time of publication, these data points are intended to show anticipated trends and do not show final respondent percentages. To access the final conclusions of the 2025 Business Forecast Report, and the 2024 Wage and Salary Report, visit amba.org/publications/.