Hello Again.
Some very interesting news came out recently in the automotive industry, as CNBC reported that Tesla is having some significant issues with receiving flawed and damaged parts from suppliers. They pointed to towering racks of Tesla parts stacked up outside of a San Jose machine shop, awaiting rework or shipment. According to some Tesla employees interviewed for the report, the company appears to be somewhat lax in vetting new suppliers, which may lead to the issues with flawed parts needing to be repaired or reworked. It’s an interesting story, and it just reinforces the need to fully evaluate and vet new suppliers before adding them to your supply chain – a process more than one million buyers and engineers initiate on the Thomasnet.com platform every month.
According to the labeling on some of those Tesla boxes shown in the report, some of the products being reworked are Castings, and this should come as no surprise, as cast parts in a variety of metals are used widely in automobile manufacturing for everything from spark plugs and airbag housings, to engine blocks and cylinder heads.
On that note, this week we took a look at our data to identify products or services that have seen an increase in sourcing activity at Thomasnet.com, not just week-over-week, but also month-over-month and year-over-year. One of the categories that made the list is Iron Castings. If you ask any of the nearly 400 suppliers of Iron Castings at Thomasnet.com what industries they’re hearing from, the automotive industry is likely to be one of the top answers.
Our data shows that sourcing activity for Fabricators is also up week-over-week, month-over-month, and year-over-year on our platform. This title represents a very broad category of custom manufacturers, working with a tremendous range of materials and processes, and serving the full spectrum of industries. A sustained upward trend in sourcing for Fabricators bodes well for the manufacturing industry and the economy as a whole.
Next up on our list is Connectors. This is another broad category of products. In fact, there are more than 330 different types of industrial and commercial connectors listed at Thomasnet.com.
Two more categories that made our list are LED Products, and Pouch Packaging.
These are just five categories on a sustained upward trend in sourcing activity at Thomasnet.com.
Beyond these categories, here’s a quick look at the top ten products and services being sourced over the past four weeks on our platform:
- Steel
- Sheet Metal Fabrication
- Machining
- Food Products
- Machining: CNC
- Metal Fabrication
- Contract Manufacturing
- Fasteners
- Valves
- Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS)
Yet again, Steel tops the list, as manufacturers continue to look for domestic sources of supply as an alternative to foreign suppliers impacted by high tariffs. If you’re a supplier in any of the categories we’ve covered here today, buyers are looking for what you offer right now at Thomasnet.com.
Well, that’s what our data shows this week. The best way to get this weekly Thomas Index report — and other useful industry news — is to sign up for our daily Thomas Industry Update. You can do so by visiting Thomasnet com.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next week.