In another sign that the American economy is slowing, February inbound container shipments at the top 10 U.S. ports hit their lowest level since before the pandemic, according to the latest available port data aggregated by Bloomberg. Inbound container shipments are seasonal in nature, and February is ... READ MORE >
U.S. manufacturing payrolls negative for first time in 21 months
Manufacturing payrolls lost 4,000 jobs in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday, the first net reduction the sector has experienced since April 2021 during the depths of the pandemic-induced recession. The negative figure wasn’t unexpected after nearly six months of ... READ MORE >
Manufacturing labor market tightens further as pace of hiring slows
The United States added 8,000 manufacturing jobs in December, making for a total of 379,000 new manufacturing jobs added in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This marks a 3% rise in new manufacturing jobs compared to 2021, but the hiring pace in the last few months has slowed. The U.S. ... READ MORE >
Globalized manufacturing enters a new era
The era of globalization which brought cheap goods, low inflation, rapid growth and inexpensive capital is transitioning to a new state. Globalization is not dead, but the makeup of its participants has shifted and the rules of global trade continue to be rewritten as businesses diversify where they ... READ MORE >
October data: Manufacturing jobs show little sign of slowing, but openings still elevated
After three months of softening manufacturing payroll data, hiring continued and experienced an uptick in October, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. There were 32,000 net new manufacturing jobs added last month, an increase from the 23,000 added in September. Another ... READ MORE >
Positive manufacturing jobs data masks broader issue of tech investment
U.S. manufacturers’ hiring pace remained in positive territory in September with a net increase of 22,000 in manufacturing payrolls from August, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sector’s pace of hiring has slowed since its recent peak in April of this year at ... READ MORE >
Inflation and gross margins—who is winning? Part 1: The transportation sector
RSM took a detailed look at gross margins across different peer groups in the industrials sector to see how each has fared during this time of high inflation. In this article—part of a series—we examine margins for the transportation sector. Here is what we found. The industrials sector played a ... READ MORE >
The U.S. may see another supply whipsaw amid transport logjams
The months-long lockdown in Shanghai, China’s most populous city and home to the world’s largest container port, is causing a pile-up of ships at anchor off the Chinese coast. Factory shutdowns and the reduced flow of goods from the city’s port will cause another jolt to U.S. supply chains in the weeks ... READ MORE >
Rapid-fire sanctions: What do they mean for industrial companies?
Russia is known for its commodity exports to the world, and the short- and long-term impacts of the recent sanctions on the country are not yet completely clear. But given the wide-reaching implications of these sanctions on everything from energy and metals to airplane parts and shipping, we can ... READ MORE >
As inflation has risen, companies ask: ‘Can I really raise my prices?’
As companies across virtually every sector of the economy continue to grapple with inflation at its highest level in 30 years, more executives are taking a closer look at whether to increase prices. But there are more dynamics at play than just rising costs, and businesses need to take a broader view as ... READ MORE >