With all the talk regarding American manufacturing in 2014 and the possible renaissance poised to strike, we here at Mid-West Screw Products wanted to take a moment to think about how we feel the year may progress.
Due to the slow flow of components to certain industries here in the U.S., manufacturers are going back to their original U.S. suppliers. Why? Because these manufactured products have to be replaced into their inventories due to the demands placed on them. No one can foresee having their inventories depleted in such a short period of time. No one manufacturer can predict a year filled with unusual disasters and destructive severe weather on such a large scale. This weather has caused the need for all kinds of repairs due to flooding, snow damage and more. By supplying that increased demand, those industries will stimulate the need to replace, to repair the simplest of issues, to power lines, transformers, etc., throughout the country. All of these issues will create a large boost to the economy in 2014.
Other industries that may see a very different path are those who deal in plant life, farming, animals and grain. Because of the cold, importing a lot of these items may be necessary to continue to do business. Apparently, Mother Nature whom we have no control over, will help some industries show a gain, while others will suffer.
Additionally, manufacturers are having real problems with on time deliveries and figuring out how parts or products are going to get to their final destinations. Because of the weather, fuel cost, and other restrictions being put on the delivery of freight, things will continue to be tough in this area.
2014 looks to us like there may be a good amount of highs and lows. For every natural disaster (for example, Hurricane Sandy last year) some manufacturing will go up and some others else will go down. We are keeping our eyes open here for anything that may affect the machining industry, but let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.