The National Association of Manufacturers released on December 20, 2018 the results of the Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2018, which shows manufacturers’ optimism for the year reached the highest level on
record in the 20-year history of the survey. On average in 2018, 92.4% of manufacturers surveyed reported a positive outlook for their companies.
The inability to attract and retain a quality workforce remained manufacturers’ top concern (68.2%) in the fourth quarter, followed by increased raw material costs and trade uncertainties. The workforce shortage has forced more than one in four
manufacturers surveyed to turn down new business opportunities.
According to the latest government data as of the article release date, there are now 522,000 open manufacturing jobs in the United States, an all-time high. A
new report from The Manufacturing Institute (the NAM’s social-impact arm) and Deloitte (a multinational professional services network) projects that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled over the next decade.
Highlights from the fourth quarter survey include the following:
- Most manufacturers (88.7%) have a positive outlook of their businesses, putting the average for 2018 at 92.4%—the highest annual average in the survey’s 20-year history.
- Optimism among small manufacturers remained high at 87.9%.
- Manufacturers predict strong growth rates in employee wages (2.3%), capital investments (2.6%), and sales (4.3%) over the next 12 months.
- Attracting and retaining a quality workforce remained manufacturers’ top concern (68.2%).
- The inability to attract a quality workforce has forced more than one in four manufacturers to turn down new business opportunities.
- Increased raw material costs and trade uncertainties marked the second- and third-largest challenges for manufacturers, at 65.1% and 60.4%, respectively.
Further information on the survey is available at the NAM website.