It’s hard to believe that 2016 is rushing past us and that we are on the cusp of 2017. What happened to that 2016 manufacturing recovery that many of the macroeconomic prognosticators envisioned? For those whose long term success is tied to a strong and sustained US Manufacturing economy, we feel as of late like the perpetually optimistic Chicago Cubs fan, being told "wait 'til next year". That "next year" may be now for the Cubs fans, but what about manufacturing?
Seems like back in 2014 the predictions were for a potentially weak 1st half and then a steady recovery in late 2014, continuing on into 2015 and 2016. Business owners were encouraged to expand and invest to put their manufacturing businesses in a favorable position to reap the rewards of a “manufacturing run” that would span several years. Then, in the 2nd half of 2014 began the steep decline on Oil Prices that seemed to change the calculus and to push those recovery predictions out into 2015 or 2016.
Read more ...
DECEMBER 2015 - Economic Indicators and the Manufacturing Economy………A vibrant domestic manufacturing sector is a key contributor to the economic engine of our country. At Sko-Die, we are firmly committed to the strength and expansion of our domestic manufacturing sector. For nearly 70 years, we have served an array of markets and customers that are all affected by the relative strength or weakness of several economic indicators. Though the major media outlets do make regular mention of our manufacturing economy, a vast majority of the discussion tends towards some of the specific subsets of our overall manufacturing sector, such as Housing Starts, Automobile production and Oil Pricing.
Read more ...