August 21, 2023

Arlington, VA – In Q1, SOCMA conducted a commercial pulse poll, which provided a snapshot on the state of the industry and additional benchmarking data. Six months later, SOCMA conducted a follow-up survey to updated those learnings and obtain a snapshot of the current industry outlook. SOCMA obtained 81 responses, of which 60% are active SOCMA members.

Contract Manufacturing Now Projected to Remain Flat
The pulse poll in February 2023 showed contract manufacturing was expected to grow in the first half of 2023, while proprietary products were expected to remain flat. The majority of responses now state contract manufacturing is also projected to remain flat.

Fifty eight percent of respondents attribute customer orders being down as the primary factor of this softening.

Companies Focused on Innovation and Exploring New Markets
When asked what modifications do companies intend to implement for businesses planning the remainder of 2023, the top three areas of resource investment was not decreasing staff, but being agile and finding new opportunities.

Data, Events and Trade Shows Drive Information for Business Planning
When asked where information is typically sourced to assess business conditions and identify market insights, it was reported Trade Shows and Conferences like the SOCMA Summit and SOCMA Show are primary sources of industry intelligence, the second being trade and business journals.

A data gap was identified that a contract manufacturing outlook is needed and would be of value. In response, SOCMA was excited to serve as an information source and launch the first Contract Manufacturing Outlook to collect the much needed information last week. Similar to the SOCMA Pulse Poll, we welcome the industry’s participation.

About the SOCMA Pulse Poll
The SOCMA Pulse Poll is an initiative of the SOCMA’s Commercial Pillar. SOCMA polls the industry to obtain a real-time lens into trends impacting business growth across the specialty chemicals industry. The data is used to drive SOCMA’s commercial service programs and lead generation tools.

For more information, or to speak with a member of our team about this data, contact us at info@socma.org.

Categorized in: