U.S. factory manufacturing activity slowed in February as new orders contracted, reflecting worries about supply chain disruptions related to the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, which has revived financial market fears of a recession.

While other data on Monday showed construction spending increased by the most in nearly two years, hitting a record high in January, the upbeat news was likely to be overshadowed by the coronavirus epidemic.

U.S. stock indexes suffered their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis last week as investors sold equities and bought U.S. Treasuries, and the yield on the two-year Treasury note fell below 1% for the first time since 2016.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday described the economy’s fundamentals as “strong,” but acknowledged that “the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity,” and said the U.S. central bank would “use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy.”

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to a reading of 50.1 last month from 50.9 in January. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index would slip to 50.5 in February.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 11% of the U.S. economy. The ISM index pulled above the 50 threshold in January for the first time in five months, as trade tensions between the United States and China eased following the signing of a partial deal that month.

But the coronavirus epidemic, which has killed at least 3,000 people and infected more than 80,000, most of them in China, is a new threat for factories. Data and some regional Fed factory surveys had hinted at some stabilization in manufacturing after it slumped last year.

The ISM said “comments from the panel were generally positive, with sentiment cautious compared to January,” but also noted that “global supply chains are impacting most, if not all, of the manufacturing industry sectors.”

About six industries, including computers and electronics, fabricated metal and chemical producers, reported the coronavirus outbreak was impacting their businesses.

Reports from around the world on Monday also showed factories taking a beating from the coronavirus outbreak, with activity in China shrinking at a record pace. Japan’s PMI showed its factory activity was hit by the sharpest contraction in nearly four years in February.

In South Korea, factory activity also shrank faster in February. Activity in Vietnam and Taiwan, two key economies in the global technology supply chain, slipped into contraction from growth the month earlier.

In addition to fracturing the supply chain and undercutting exports, the outbreak has led to a slowdown in travel plans that is also seen hampering the services industry.

Apple <AAPL.O> last month warned investors it was unlikely to meet revenue targets for the first quarter of 2020 and that global iPhone supplies would be limited as manufacturing sites in China were not ramping up production as quickly as expected.

Financial markets are worried the coronavirus could derail the longest U.S. economic expansion on record, now in its 11th year.

The ISM’s forward-looking new orders sub-index dropped to a reading of 49.8 in February from 52.0 in January. A measure of exports orders fell last month after accelerating to its highest level since September 2018 in January.

Manufacturers also reported paying less for raw materials and other inputs. The ISM’s factory employment index fell to 46.9 last month from 46.6 in January, suggesting manufacturing payrolls could remain weak after declining in December and January.

A separate report on Monday from the data firm IHS Markit showed its final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index slid to 50.7 in February from 51.9 in January.

The pullback in the ISM’s closely watched national index and the IHS Markit PMI bucked a series of fairly upbeat readings on the manufacturing sector at the regional level. A purchasing manager survey tracking the Chicago region rose to a six-month high in February. There was a rebound in factory activity in the district that covers Texas. Manufacturing activity in areas watched by the Philadelphia Fed and New York Fed also picked up.

U.S. stock indexes held gains after the release of the data, as investors’ focus turned to assurances of central bank stimulus to counter the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Prices of U.S. Treasuries were trading higher while the dollar <.DXY>was weaker against a basket of currencies.

Having rolled out its “new retail” strategy, Alibaba Group now has set its sights on helping the manufacturing industry transform and prepare for upcoming threats and opportunities the market will face.

“New manufacturing” would see traditional business-to-consumer manufacturers transition to deliver experiences and more personalised services, driven by consumer expectations, said Alibaba’s co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, who was speaking Wednesday at the Chinese vendor’s computing conference here.
While new retail was a melding of offline and online consumer experiences, new manufacturing was a culmination of manufacturing and services industries, Ma said.

The adoption of IT and digital transformation addressed the need for standardisation, scalability, and flexibility. However, as long as processes could be standardised, he noted, machines could replace the need for humans to perform such tasks.

This underscored the need to focus on delivering customer experiences, something which machines would not be able to fulfil and would require the work of humans, he said, adding that Alibaba aimed to help the manufacturing industry reform.

Ma said: “New retail seeks to redefine the retail sector. Today, I’d like to talk about new manufacturing because it will soon bring a wave of threats and opportunities to the manufacturing industry in China, and around the world. We must be prepared, both mentally and in every way possible.”

Factories today were expected to be able to produce a wide variety of products, and at scale, he said. To effectively meet such demands, the manufacturing industry would need the key tools that new retail required, including data analytics, cloud, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things (IoT).

“Data analysts and algorithm engineers of the future will not be working in-house at internet companies, but in manufacturing facilities instead,” he added.

US trade confrontation requires 20-year defense

He reiterated a prediction he made earlier this week at Alibaba’s investors meetup here, when he described the trade war as “a mess” that could potentially drag on for two decades. He said the move was the US government’s attempts to curtail China’s increasing economic clout, just as the former did against Japan during the 1980s.

He urged Chinese enterprises, in particular SMBs, to be prepared should the trade war stretch 20 years.

Highlighting the need to leverage the latest technology and new ideas, Ma said great enterprises operating today would have experienced and survived tough market environments. Innovators would prevail, he added.

Based in Singapore, Eileen Yu reported for ZDNet from The Computing Conference 2018 in Hangzhou, China, on the invitation of Alibaba Group.

It is a great, but terrifying time to be a manufacturer in the United States. New manufacturing plants are popping up and existing manufacturers are pushing their capacity to the limit. The big issue that remains however, is the skills gap. Retiring baby boomers are vacating skilled manufacturing jobs. To complicate matters our culture tends to emphasize academics more than job happiness. Anyone involved in manufacturing knows it can be an extremely rewarding field to work in and many great jobs do not require a four year degree to perform. There should be no shame for an individual who would prefer to build things and work with their hands while contributing to an incredible economic powerhouse. That’s not to say that manufacturing is just a blue collar paradise. There are jobs of every shape, size and technical qualification and modern manufacturing is a far cry from the dark dirty factories of the past. If you spend a little time with these hard working talented people, you will see how passionate they are about their jobs, communities and making quality products.

Manufacturer Led Solutions

In recent years, a number of manufacturers have organized to address the skills gap directly in their own communities. They do this by working directly with educators. We don’t see real change without the efforts of these people, they are the answer to this problem and they need our support. These are just some examples from here in California, but initiatives and groups like them are forming all over the country:

• Grow Manufacturing Initiative
• San Joaquin Manufacturing Alliance
• Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative

Grow Manufacturing Iniative

In Northern California, centered in Chico, CA. Manufacturers organized to form GMI and they have made a real impact in the communities they service. They have been very successful in aligning the skills being taught with the needs of local manufacturers. They host an annual manufacturing expo as well as train the trainer (educators) events. Bill Gaines of Transfer Flow was also instrumental in inspiring the formation of the Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative.

San Joaquin Manufacturing Alliance

In the Central Valley, centered around Fresno, CA. Manufacturers organized to form SJVMA. They have achieved great results in addressing the needs of manufacturers for a skilled workforce and have formed a sizable organization that also includes an annual manufacturing summit that attracts hundreds of participants, vendors and sponsors. Mike Betts of Betts Manufacturing is incredibly passionate and dedicated a tremendous amount of his own time and resources to helping establish and make SJVMA a viable and effective organization.

Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative

In the greater Sacramento Area, manufacturers including Harris and Bruno, Tri Tool, Snowline Engineering, Garner Products, Siemens, JL Haley, TechnicFMC, Zi Machine, and Blue Diamond Growers along with some affiliates including Managed Solutions formed SVMI in 2018. The group has already hosted train the trainer events, factory tours and established a dedicated and passionate board of directors. They recently launched their website, and will be working hard to meet the work force demands of manufacturers in the area for years to come.

WASHINGTON—American factory activity accelerated for the second straight month in June, signaling momentum in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

The Institute for Supply Management on Monday said its manufacturing index rose to 60.2 in June from 58.7 in May. Numbers above 50 indicate activity is expanding across the manufacturing sector, while numbers below 50 signal contraction. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 58.1 reading for June.

The index in February hit 60.8, its highest level since May 2004, before easing in March and April. It picked up in May and again in June.

U.S. employers stepped up hiring modestly in April, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, evidence of the economy’s resilience amid the recent stock market chaos and anxieties about a possible trade war.

Job growth amounted to a decent 164,000 last month, up from an upwardly revised 135,000 in March, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate fell after having held at 4.1 percent for the prior six months largely because fewer people were searching for jobs.

The gains reflect an economy that has been steadily expanding for almost nine years, gradually putting more people to work after the country endured the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

What is the jobs report?

Many employers say it’s become difficult to find qualified workers. Even so, they haven’t significantly bumped up pay in most industries. Average hourly earnings rose 2.6 percent from a year ago.

The overall unemployment rate remained, as in recent months, the lowest since December 2000. The rate for African-Americans — 6.6 percent — is the lowest on record since 1972.

Many economists say the unemployment rate is now so low that wage growth should begin to climb this summer, since employers will face more pressure to boost pay in order to hire workers.

“It’s just not sustainable for average pay growth to be so low in a labor market this tight,” said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at the jobs site Glassdoor.

An encouraging sign for the economy is that the pace of hiring has yet to be disrupted by dramatic global market swings, a recent pickup in inflation or the risk that the tariffs being pushed by President Donald Trump could provoke a trade war. Over the past three months, monthly job growth has averaged 208,000.

Much of the economy’s durability is due, in fact, to the healthy job market. The increase in people earning paychecks has bolstered demand for housing, even though fewer properties are being listed for sale. Consumer confidence has improved over the past year. And more people are shopping, with retail sales having picked up in March after three monthly declines.

Manufacturers added 24,000 workers last month, a sign that possible tariffs on steel, aluminum and Chinese goods haven’t altered hiring plans at most U.S. factories. Restaurants and hotels hired a net 18,000. The health care and social assistance sector added 29,300 jobs and the construction industry 17,000.

The monthly jobs reports have yet to show a consistent surge in average annual wage growth. Even so, workers in the private sector during the first three months of 2018 enjoyed their sharpest average income growth in 11 years, the Labor Department said last week in a separate report on compensation.

That pay growth suggests that some of the momentum from the slow but steady recovery from the 2008 financial crisis is spreading to more people after it had disproportionately benefited the nation’s wealthiest areas and highest earners.

With qualified job applicants harder to find in many industries, employers have become less and less likely to shed employees. The four-week moving average for people applying for first-time unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since 1973.

The trend reflects a decline in mass layoffs. Many companies expect the economy to keep expanding, especially after a dose of stimulus from tax cuts signed into law by Trump that have also increased the federal budget deficit.

Inflation has shown signs of accelerating slightly, eroding some of the potential wage growth. Consumer prices rose at a year-over-year pace of 2.4 percent in March, the sharpest annual increase in 12 months. The Federal Reserve has an annual inflation target of 2 percent, and investors expect the Fed to raise rates at least twice more this year, after an earlier rate hike in March, to keep inflation from climbing too far above that target.

The home market, a critical component of the U.S. economy, has been a beneficiary of the steady job growth. The National Association of Realtors said that homes sold at a solid annual pace of 5.6 million in March, even though the number of houses for sale has plunged. As a result, average home prices are rising at more than twice the pace of wages.

NFIB Small Business Economic Trends – February

Embargoed Tuesday, March 13 at 6 a.m.

(Based on 642 respondents to the February survey of a random sample of

NFIB’s member firms, surveyed through 2/28/18)

Overview

The Index of Small Business Optimism increased 0.7 points in February, rising to 107.6, the second highest level in its 45-year history, second only to the 108.0 reading in 1983.  February results produced several mentionable accomplishments:

• Taxes received the fewest votes as the #1 business problem since 2006.
• Reports of few qualified workers remained the #1 problem, highest since 2000.
• Reports of improved earnings trends were the highest since 1987.
• Inventory investment was the strongest since 2000, fueling GDP growth.
• Reports of actual capital outlays rose to the highest level since 2004.
• Reports of compensation increases held at the highest level since 2000.

The net percent of owners reporting higher selling prices continued to inch upward, reaching the highest level since 2014.  Job creation posted another solid gain, hiring plans remained strong, and reports of labor quality as a top business problem reached record levels.  Borrowing activity was flat, even though capital spending increased substantially, likely financed by improved profits instead of debt.  Overall, the small business sector is very encouraged by the economic policies of the administration and the strength of the economy, willing to invest more and hire more if workers can be found to fill their open positions.

Small Business Optimism and Ten Components

 [Column 1 is the current reading, column 2 the change from the prior month, column 3 the percent of the total change in the Index accounted for by each component; “*” means the percent <0.5% or not a meaningful calculation.  Index is based to the average value in 1986, components are not. The term “net” means that the percent of owners giving an unfavorable answer has been subtracted from the percent of owners giving a positive or favorable response.  For some questions, there is no “unfavorable” response category]

LABOR MARKETS

Job creation remained solid in the small business sector as owners reported a seasonally adjusted average employment change per firm of 0.22 workers, a strong showing and a repeat of last month.  Fourteen percent (up 1 point) reported increasing employment an average of 2.0 workers per firm and 10 percent (up 1 point) reported reducing employment an average of 3.5 workers per firm (seasonally adjusted).

Fifty-two percent reported hiring or trying to hire (down 3 points), but 47 percent (90 percent of those hiring or trying to hire) reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.  Twenty-two percent of owners cited the difficulty of finding qualified workers as their Single Most Important Business Problem (unchanged), exceeding the percentage citing taxes or the cost of regulation.  Construction and transportation are the industries most affected with 37 percent of owners in each industry claiming labor quality as their top problem.

Thirty-four percent of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, unchanged from January.  Fifteen percent reported using temporary workers, up 3 points and the highest reading since November 2016.  Reports of job openings were most frequent in construction (49 percent), manufacturing (32 percent) and non-professional services (37 percent).  Labor shortages are serious and slowing the growth in output and employment.

A seasonally adjusted net 18 percent plan to create new jobs, down 2 points from January but at historically high levels.  Not seasonally adjusted, 27 percent plan to increase employment at their firm (up 2 points), and 3 percent plan reductions (unchanged).  Hiring plans were strongest in construction (net 33 percent), manufacturing (net 26 percent), transportation and communication (net 30 percent) and professional services (net 26 percent).  Historically an exceptionally strong outlook for job creation.  The availability of qualified workers will undoubtedly moderate actual job growth.

Labor markets are very tight, for both skilled and unskilled workers. To address this problem, a net 22 percent plan to raise worker compensation, historically high. Thirty-one percent reported raising compensation to attract or retain employees, the highest since December 2000, the peak of the last expansion.  Only an increase in the size of the labor force can provide relief from the impact of labor shortages.  Firms will be hiring workers with less than the desired skill levels, forcing them to invest more in training.

CAPITAL SPENDING

Sixty-six percent reported capital outlays, up 5 points from January and the highest reading since 2004.  Of those making expenditures, 45 percent reported spending on new equipment (up 1 point), 30 percent acquired vehicles (up 2 points), and 15 percent improved or expanded facilities (down 1 point).  Six percent acquired new buildings or land for expansion (unchanged) and 15 percent spent money for new fixtures and furniture (up 2 points).

Twenty-nine percent plan capital outlays in the next few months, unchanged from January.  Plans were most frequent in construction (35 percent), professional services (37 percent), and manufacturing (39 percent).  Improvements in productivity depend crucially on investment spending in the labor intensive small business sector.  Improved earnings trends and lower taxes increase the pool of capital available for firms to invest in their businesses.  About half of the firms making capital expenditures focused on equipment, most though are upgraded versions of equipment already in use, not necessarily major “hi-tech” switches.

SALES  

A net 8 percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reported higher nominal sales in the past three months compared to the prior three months, a 3 point gain following two prior months of strong readings.  Consumer spending continues to provide solid support to economic growth.

The net percent of owners expecting higher real sales volumes rose 3 points, to a net 28 percent of owners, one of the best readings since 2007.  Positive expectations surged to over 30 points in December 2016, after the election and have remained historically high since then, reaching 34 percent in November 2017.  Very positive sales expectations are undoubtedly behind the continued strength in hiring plans and capital investment plans.

INVENTORIES:

The net percent of owners reporting inventory increases rose 3 percentage points to a net 7 percent (seasonally adjusted) on top of a 6 point rise in January.  Inventory stocks are building in anticipation of strong sales, at the strongest pace since January 2000.  This is very supportive of GDP and employment growth.

The net percent of owners viewing current inventory stocks as “too low” (positive number means more think stocks are too low than too high, a positive for inventory building) was a net negative 3 percent, 2 points better than January.  With historically high numbers of owners reporting inventory building, stocks may be able to keep up with growing sales.  If not, more owners will start reporting current stocks as “too low”.

However, the net percent of owners planning to add to inventory rose a point from January to a net 4 percent – a solid number.  Plans averaged 4 percent in the last six months of 2017 as firms geared up for increasing demand.  Inventory investment was a major contributor to the growth in GDP in the second half of last year, and it appears that this momentum will continue into the first quarter.

INFLATION:

The net percent of owners raising average selling prices rose 2 points to a net 13 percent seasonally adjusted, after a 3 point increase in January.  This is the highest reading since July 2014.  Gradually, the Federal Reserve may be getting its wish for more inflation.  Unadjusted, 9 percent of owners reported reducing their average selling prices in the past three months (unchanged), and 22 percent reported price increases (up 3 points after a 4 point gain last month).  Still far short of the record 67 percent of owners raising selling prices in 1974.  That was inflation!

Seasonally adjusted, a net 24 percent plan price hikes (up 1 point), although far fewer will report actually doing so in the following months.  This is the highest reading since 2008.  With reports of increased compensation running high, there is more pressure to pass these costs on in higher selling prices, although the tax cut and growing operating profits alleviate some of this pressure.

COMPENSATION AND EARNINGS:

Reports of higher worker compensation remained at a net 31 percent, the highest reading since 2000 and among the highest in survey history.  The Federal Reserve is hoping this will result in inflation as owners pass these costs on in the form of higher selling prices, but to date, their wish has not been granted yet.  Tight labor markets are historically associated with high percentages of owners raising worker compensation.

Owners complain at record rates of labor quality issues, with 90 percent of those hiring or trying to hire reporting few or no qualified applicants for their open positions.  Twenty-two percent (unchanged) selected “finding qualified labor” as their top business problem, more than cited taxes, weak sales or the cost of regulations as their top challenge. This is the highest reading since 2000.

Plans to raise compensation fell 2 points to a net 22 percent but still among the highest readings since 2000.  Small firms are raising compensation to attract and keep the employees they need.

The frequency of reports of positive profit trends improved one percentage point to a net negative 3 percent reporting quarter on quarter profit improvements, the best reading since 1987.  This followed an 11 point improvement in January.  Although the new tax law will impact profits this year, much of the current improvement is due to gains in operating profits and stronger sales.  Small business owners have lived with austerity for eight years, their costs were well under control and the recent surge in sales bolsters the bottom line first before costs catch up.

CREDIT MARKETS:

Two percent of owners reported that all their borrowing needs were not satisfied, down 1 point and at the record low. Thirty-two percent reported all credit needs met (up 1 point) and 51 percent said they were not interested in a loan, down a point.  Only 2 percent reported that financing was their top business problem compared to 15 percent citing taxes, 15 percent citing regulations and red tape, and 22 percent the availability of qualified labor.  Weak sales garnered 11 percent of the vote.  Three percent reported loans “harder to get’, unchanged and at historic lows.  In short, credit availability and cost are not issues and haven’t been for many years.  Loan demand has not returned to its pre-recession levels.

Thirty-one percent of all owners reported borrowing on a regular basis (unchanged).  The average rate paid on short maturity loans was down 20 basis points at 5.7 percent.  If the Federal Reserve raises rates the anticipated three times this year, variable rate loan costs will respond immediately, although longer term rates are not likely to reflect the full hike.  Overall, loan demand remains steady, even with cheap money.  Small businesses have been restructuring over the past ten years and profit trends are improving, leaving owners in a good position to borrow once they need financing beyond the resources provided by their firm’s operations.

THE LARGER PERSPECTIVE:

Growth in the fourth quarter was revised down to 2.5% after 3.2% in the third.  This is misleading because consumer spending grew at 3.8 percent, and this is 70 percent of GDP.  Business investment grew 6.6 percent.  However, the mathematics of GDP subtract from spending all demand that is satisfied with inventory made in prior periods (GDP measure output in the current period).  Thus, 0.7 percent was deducted from the growth rate.  Additional reductions resulted from a rise in imports (spending money on goods made in other countries does not increase our GDP).  All that to say that underlying spending in the economy was much stronger than our GDP math indicated.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates again at the March meeting, the first of three expected raises for the year.  It also continues to let some of its $4 trillion dollar portfolio mature without reinvesting the proceeds.  This reduces the demand for bonds, putting upward pressure on interest rates.  On top of this, the Treasury will be selling a lot of bonds to finance the deficit, which imposes additional pressure on rates.  Rising rates will, of course, not be a positive force for equity prices or asset prices in general.  Interest rates on variable price loans will rise.  Less clear is the impact on long term rates, but they are likely to ease higher.

The small business sector is on fire.  The pickup in capital spending is a very favorable sign, as capital spending (crucial for improved productivity) fell way behind from 2009 to 2016.  Improved capital spending  signals increased confidence in the future of the economy.   Hiring is excellent and would be stronger if the labor market were not so tight.  This is and will be a major constraint on growth.  Inventory investment is strong and will add to GDP this quarter, hopefully it will be purchased later in the year by customers.  Inflationary pressures from Main Street are minimal although reported hikes in average selling prices have been edging up.  After years of small businesses sitting on the sidelines and not benefiting from the so called recovery, Main Street is again on fire.

===================================================

NFIB began surveys of its membership in October 1973.  Surveys were conducted in the first month of each quarter through 1985 when monthly surveys were instituted.  The first month in each quarter is based on between 1,200 and 2,000 respondents, while the following two monthly surveys contain between 400 and 900 respondents.  The term “net percent” means that the percent of owners giving an unfavorable response has been subtracted from the percent giving a favorable response.  If, for example, 20 percent reported that they were going to increase the number of workers at the firm and 5 percent reported an intention to reduce the number of workers, the “net percent” would be 20 percent – 5 percent  or a net 15 percent planning to expand employment.  These figures are seasonally adjusted unless noted.  The graphs show quarterly data (first survey month in each quarter), updated when available by subsequent monthly surveys.

The manufacturing sector continued to grow at an above-average rate in November, as the impact of back-to-back hurricanes over the summer recedes, according to an industry survey released on Dec. 1.

Output spiked and employment remains strong to produce “a really strong report” on the sector, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said.

The ISM’s purchasing managers index slowed to 58.2% from 58.7% in October, but remained well above the average for the past year, with 14 of the 18 industries surveyed reporting growth.

However, the decline actually reflects an improvement in conditions following the hurricanes, as transportation issues from storms are being overcome, Timothy Fiore, chair of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, explained.

The supplier deliveries index fell nearly five points to 56.5%, which indicates shipments are speeding up.

Manufacturers expected to see three months of transportation difficulties in the wake of the hurricanes — especially Hurricane Harvey’s hit to the key chemical and oil production facilities in Houston — as well as six months of impacts on prices, Fiore said.

He noted that only 5% of comments from the manufacturers surveyed mentioned the hurricanes, down sharply from the prior two months.

The report showed a three-point jump in the production index to 63.9%, and a more than half-point rise in new orders to 64%, while employment slipped a tenth to a still-strong 59.7%.

The only industries reporting contraction were wood and petroleum and coal.

Fiore said industries reported that “price pressures continue,” with 16 of the 18 sectors surveyed reporting increases. The price index slipped three points to 65.5%.

The comments from the companies surveyed indicate a strong surge into 2018, with many noting they are not seeing the usual year-end slowdown in orders.

“We are just coming off a record sales year. We expect to continue in 2018 robust activity,” one manufacturing firm said.

Meanwhile, a metal producer noted, “We are seeing steady, consistent demand for end of year. We usually see a slowdown, which we haven’t seen yet.”

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017

When you hear “lean manufacturing“, you have your own world view of what it means. Every lean manufacturing consultant offers expertise but few will be an expert with every tool. To ensure you have the very best options for lean manufacturing tools, our team did extensive research which includes websites such as LeanProduction.com.

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