It is no secret that the health of the American economy is closely tied to the health of American manufacturing. It is also no secret that since the Great Recession first hit, the state of the economy and the state of manufacturing has been poor. The year 2014, however, is showing some signs that it could be the year American manufacturing makes a comeback, which would be a welcome break all the way down the supply chain. 

Why are some experts predicting American manufacturing will make a comeback this year? Every quarter, Industry Week publishes the National Association of Manufacturers report on the state of manufacturing. The most recent report indicated several positive points regarding American manufacturing, including the following: 

• 86.1 percent of respondents were either somewhat or very positive about their own company’s outlook
• Positive outlook has steadily been increasing for five quarters in a row since the 2012 drop
• Respondents who said they were “somewhat positive” increased from 65.9 percent in December 2013 to 72.3 percent in March 2014 

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, consumer interest and the increase in manufacturing should last at least for the next two quarters barring any unforeseen circumstances. The horrible weather in most of the country during the early months of 2014 has slightly dampened the positive forecast, but once the weather breaks, manufacturing should be able to grow unhindered. 

The good news for manufacturers does not necessarily translate into good news for municipalities or other agencies that would use the kind of equipment we make at Hi-Vac, but there is a sense that with the positive forecast for manufacturing growth, everyone is beginning to rebound, finally, from the last few rough years. 

The potentially good news for this industry is that at this point, a lot of maintenance work has been left undone over the last few years, so now there is a certain level of desperation to get everything back into tip-top shape. The hope is that as manufacturing infuses more money and jobs into the economy, construction projects and maintenance projects will also increase steadily over the coming months. 

Do you feel 2014 will be the year of the great manufacturing comeback? Why or why not? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at 800/752-2400 or visit www.hi-vac.com.