Guest Editorial Tim Fausch Director/Group Publisher
Manufacturing Engineering Media Society of Manufacturing Engineers
SMESpeaks The Society of Manufacturing Engineers Manufacturing Forecast: Upbeat I
t’s an old bit, but still funny. One guy stands bloodied and beaten to a pulp, but confidently says, “You should see the other guy.” Having spent many years in media supporting the
construction market, that’s how I felt entering the manufacturing sector in late 2011. Yes, manufacturing took a beating during the Great Recession, but it has rebounded far faster and is much healthier than construction, which continues to lag. I’m extremely pleased to be a part of an industry that is mostly thriving. Depending on your niche and competition, there’s a good chance your company has experienced a spike in productivity, orders, profits or some combination of the three. In fact, since I joined SME 17 months ago, several manufacturers have told me they’ve experienced record-setting production. It’s no wonder manufacturing has captured the spotlight in
Washington and many regions around the country. Manu- facturing has been a bolt of sunshine in an otherwise foggy economic landscape, thus attracting the attention of leaders who see its potential.
There is more sunshine in the forecast. The Manufactur- ing Engineering editorial team recently completed a 2013 manufacturing trends report, “2013: A Turning Point for US Manufacturing,” that is very encouraging. You will find it added as a special bonus to our digital and mobile editions of this issue. Or, you can read it on our Web site at
www.sme.org/2013mfgreport.
For those of you who enjoy the “coming attractions” before seeing the movie, here are a few of the report’s highlights. Jobs and Employment. Manufacturing jobs continue to return to North America, and the US in particular. Manufac- turing has contributed greatly to the US unemployment rate dropping from a high of 10% in 2009 to 7.8% at the end of 2012. The resurgence is fueled by clean, smart “advanced manufacturing,” a high-tech world driven by innovation,
round-the-clock, lights-out operations controlled by smart leaders who manage their enterprise through a software cloud and integrate their technologies worldwide. New Technologies. According to a 2012 report by the IDA, four promising technology areas will help drive growth—semi- conductors, advanced materials, additive manufacturing and biomanufacturing. Energy. Exciting things are happening in energy manufactur-
ing. The International Energy Agency recently released its an- nual World Energy Outlook, which predicted that the US would overtake Saudi Arabia as the largest global oil producer by 2020. Oil fracking, natural gas and renewable energy manufac- turing will continue to make headlines throughout 2013. Motorized Vehicles. The comeback will continue. Ameri- cans purchased 14.5 million light vehicles in 2012, up 13% over 2011. While some pent-up demand has been satisfied, automakers are predicting more growth in 2013. Software. Software advances are a key ingredient in manu-
facturing’s recent productivity gains. In some cases, newer manufacturing software is helping less-skilled workers operate complex machines.
More Encouraging Indicators Within SME, we see positive trends indicating manufactur-
ing will prosper for the remainder of 2013. For example, the number of exhibitors and attendees for our events is trending upward. SME’s Professional Development area continues to experience year-over-year growth. And ME Media is in the midst of four consecutive years of expanding audience engagement and advertising support, with the strongest growth coming in the last 12 months. My take is that manufacturing professionals are increasing their participation in events, training and media because they are more optimistic and confident.
April 2013 |
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