Manufacturing Sector About 75% recovered, MAPI predicts full recovery by Q4 2014

This is an excerpt from an MHI blog post.

Despite growing faster than the overall economy since the recession ended, U.S. manufacturing is still only about 75 percent recovered. And their is a wide variation in the performance of industries within the sector, according to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).

Manufacturing industrial production has increased faster than inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (increasing 18 percent while GDP expanded 9 percent), but manufacturing is still in the recovery phase of its cycle. Manufacturing production declined 20 percent in the recession, and production needs to increase another 5 percent from its Q2 2013 reading in order to return to  Q4 2007 levels. MAPI forecasts that the sector will complete its recovery in Q4 2014.

The full post is available at MHI's website.

EHS Today Releases its National Safety Survey Results

Below is an excerpt from the EHS Today 2013 National Safety Survey article. 

The respondents to the 2013 National Safety Survey generally are well-paid (approximately 80 percent earn more than $55,000 and 15 percent earn more than $105,000 per year); most have responsibility for safety (96 percent) followed closely by emergency preparedness (74 percent), occupational health (73 percent), ergonomics (66 percent) and industrial hygiene (65 percent); 94 percent attended college; and three-quarters are certified safety professionals (CSP). 

Most rate their organization's EHS performance as "good" (31.8 percent), "very good" (34.2 percent) or world-class (4.9 percent). Companies that offer a "one-size-fits-all" approach to EHS were criticized and the "production versus safety" argument appears to be ongoing. 

Here is a sample of what some respondents said when asked: "What is the most frequent complaint you hear from employees about your organization's safety and health program?":

    • Our managers care more about product than safety.

    • The foremen of the company still push and drive with disregard to safety. The foremen are not held accountable [for poor safety performance].

    • Management does not follow safety programs.

    • That our side (construction) has to follow the regulations but the facilities and maintenance sides do not have to follow safety policies, training or OSHA requirements.

The full article and the full survey results are available at ehstoday.com.

ARA Adjusts U.S. Rental Forecasts but Remains Positive

This is an excerpt from an International Rental News article by Murray Pollok.

The American Rental Association (ARA) continues to make bullish forecasts for the U.S. rental market with 7.0% growth expected this year followed by increases of 9.2% next year and 12.9% in 2015.

The 7.0% figure is slightly lower than the 7.3% estimated by the association in May this year, reflecting a modest slowdown of the economy, but it remains an extremely high rate and in stark contrast to Europe where rental market growth this year is expected to be around 1%.

The ARA figures come from its quarterly Rental Market Monitor produced by consultant IHS Global Insight.

“The U.S. economy slowed more than expected in the first half of the year, but equipment rental demand has remained strong”, said Scott Hazelton, a senior partner with IHS Global insight, “We have lowered our growth expectations for 2013 modestly to reflect this, but rental growth will still handily outperform the overall economy.

“The path ahead still looks promising with employment growth continuing and housing data coming in strong, which implies an improving commercial construction market to follow. Industrial markets, especially those tied to energy exploration and production, also should see growth”.

The full article is available on the International Rental News website.

Brick-and-mortar retailers display staying power on 2013 Top 100 Retailers list

This is an excerpt from a post on mhi.org about STORES’ 2013 “Top 100 Retailers” list. The full article is available on the MHI news webpage.

Wal-Mart remains at the top of the STORES’ 2013 Top 100 Retailers list, raking in $328.7 billion in 201. Kroger, reporting more than $92 billion in sales in 2012, maintained the No. 2 spot for the fourth year in a row.

Costco (4), The Home Depot (5) and Safeway (9) each moved up a single spot, and McDonald’s (10) joined the top 10 list for the first time in the survey’s history, reporting more than $35.5 billion in sales in 2012.

Target (3), CVS Caremark (7) and Lowe’s (8) round out the top 10, and Amazon.com, one of only two pure-play retailers on the Top 100 list, jumped from No. 15 to No. 11 this year.

…

Growth in Home Goods Sector Shows Consumer Resilience

An area of note in this year’s report is the growth seen in the home goods sector. Of the three companies who made the list, each climbed from last year’s position. Thanks to an improving housing market, consumers have come out of hibernation and have begun sprucing up their homes or buying for their new homes. Williams-Sonoma landed at No. 91 this year, up from No. 94 last year, and IKEA North America came in right behind at No. 92, up from No. 95. Bed Bath & Beyond reported more than $10.9 billion in sales in 2012 and landed at No. 36, up from No. 39 last year.

Continue reading the full article on the MHI news webpage.

New Video Helps Promote Material Handling and Logistics Careers

 This article was originally posted in Material Handling Industry.

The Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) recently released a video explaining the impact material handling and logistics has on the supply chain and the many different career opportunities available in this vibrant and growing industry.

The video explains the thousands of careers available in this industry that are as diverse as the materials and products moving through the supply chain. People, projects, and resources all have to be managed. Facilities need to be planned and designed. Marketing, sales, accounting, operations, engineering, CAD design, technical support, information technology and logistics are just some of the career choices the material handling and logistics industry has to offer.

Click here to view the video.

This video is part of an ongoing effort to promote material handling and logistics careers by MHEDA and MHI. For more information, visit MHEDA's Career Center and the MHI Career Center.

2013 Warehouse/DC Equipment and Technology Survey: Moving More, Spending Less

This article was originally posted in Modern Materials Handling.

Just as an effective materials handling system cannot be shaped around one data point, interpreting the results of an industry survey is about more than just the bottom line. For instance, take a look at the average materials handling budget as reported by Peerless Research Group (PRG) in the 2013 State of Warehouse/DC Equipment and Technology Survey. At nearly 26% less than last year, the average anticipated spending among the survey’s 597 respondents is just $334,510. In fact, about half of those respondents plan to spend less than $50,000.

But if we look at activity levels, facility capacity numbers have jumped up by as much at 10% in one year—following six consecutive years of decline. According to John Hill, director at St. Onge, capacity figures between 60% and 70%, although a big improvement, are still below a certain threshold. When they rise above 70%, he says, it’s often necessary to spend on materials handling equipment just to keep up. In the meantime, most businesses will tend to sit tight.

In fact, respondents expressed a great deal of optimism that they could handle it. When asked about their anticipated activity levels over the next two years, almost 95% said that they expected activity to increase or stay the same. To be fair, more than 50% of respondents suggested their warehousing activity would stay the same.

According to George Prest, CEO of Material Handling Industry (MHI), growth is projected to improve into 2014. Following industry growth rates of 14% in 2011 and 10% in 2012, 2013 could hover around 6% before breaking double digits again in 2014.

Click here for more information about the survey and to read the full article.