The Metalcasting Congress will take place this week in Las Vegas, and promises to be a gauge of the health of this industry in North America. The cancellation last month of the NEWCAST expo in Germany was a surprise — to me, at least. I’d supposed that the planning was so far along for an event of that scale that any cancellation would have been impossible.

But, since then I’ve learned that various other events are also being cancelled or postponed.  A month ago I got word of some exhibitors limiting the number of employers they’ll be sending to Las Vegas. I took note that one group’s next meeting has been postponed for two years!

So, merely the fact that the AFS/NADCA event remains on track is notable. How well the exhibit hall is attended, and how many people fill the presentation rooms, will be anecdotal evidence of the condition of foundries and diecasters in mid 2009 — or at least about its mood.

The mood is gloomy, to say the least, for no reason more complex than that business is bad. No need for me to detail how bad, or why it’s so bad. It’s worth pointing out that the effects of business being bad —cancelled events, cancelled projects, cancelled orders — are even worse for business.

Events like the Metalcasting Congress are about commerce, of course, and particularly in “vertical” markets like this one they are also a demonstration of the “community.” Communities and commerce are obviously interdependent:  one does not thrive without the other.

But there’s more to it. Conferences and trade shows function as points in the collective history of the industry. In the same way that families recall what happened “last Christmas” or “one summer vacation,” metalcasters will reflect on their shared experiences at events like the one this week. How often have you heard someone say “remember that discussion at CastExpo in Kansas City,” or some similar reference?

So what’s the point? It’s that what happens in Las Vegas will not stay in Las Vegas. Word will spread that things were bad, or perhaps better than expected. Whether you’re there or not, you’ll know about it.

It will be only an impression. Communities survive, expanding and retracting as circumstances require. They are not cancelled or rescheduled. One way or another, metalcasters will uphold their best traditions as well as they can, while they look to rebuild their strength with the best resources available to them.