Leading Edge Alliance recently unveiled their third Annual Manufacturing Survey Report.
Some key findings include:
- 81% of U.S. manufacturers expect to grow sales this year.
- 61% expect their overall sector to expand in 2019. This is fueled by a 12% increase in optimism regarding the strength of regional, national, and global economies.
- Manufacturers expect labor costs, raw materials, a lack of available talent and competition to pose significant obstacles in 2019.
- The tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump are also creating productivity issues.
- The manufacturers' top three priorities heading into 2019 are growing sales, improving profitability, and addressing the workforce shortage. More than half — 52% — cited labor and talent as the greatest barrier to growth, and 62% cited increasing compensation as a way to combat this. The second biggest barrier cited was competition (34%), followed by profitability (25%).
- Three key growth strategies were identified — technology investments, mergers and acquisitions, and talent management.
- More manufacturers are considering a sale, merger, or acquisition in 2019. The report states that 21% expect to acquire another business in 2019, and 16% are in the beginning stages of a merger or acquisition.
- 76% said that they will investigate or prioritize cybersecurity in 2019.
- 43% said they will prioritize Big Data, enterprise resource planning (ERP), or the Internet of Things (IoT).
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