Future Forecasts

Forecasts are generally what get us through each day. We watch the news for the weather forecast and determine whether we need to bring an umbrella to work that day. We watch for stock market forecasts to figure out whether to buy or sell. And now, we can look to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) U.S. Industrial Outlook quarterly report to know what to expect in the coming years in the manufacturing industry. The report analyzed 27 major industries and offered mostly positive economic forecasts for 24 of the 27 industries. MAPI predicts that in the coming New Year 18 of the 24 industries studied will show gains.

In the third quarter this year, U.S. manufacturing production recovered by increasing 4 percent. Daniel Meckstroth, Ph. D. and Chief Economist says, “The growth is being led by the energy, transportation and industrial equipment industries…Firms are profitable and have the need to spend more for both traditional and high tech business equipment, and reasonably strong growth in emerging economies is still driving U.S. exports.”

While manufacturing industrial production has increased at an annual rate of 4 percent on a quarterly basis it is also expected to increase at about 4 percent as a whole in 2011. In 2012, MAPI predicts industrial production will increase by 3 percent and another 4 percent during the following year. According to MAPI’s analysis, non-high tech manufacturing, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of total production, is expected to grow by 4 percent through the end of this year and then slow a bit to 3 percent in 2012 and 2013. High-tech industrial production, which includes electronic products such as computers and components, is anticipated to increase by almost 8 percent in 2011. High-tech production should grow by another 6 percent in 2012 and 10 percent in 2013.

With such positive outlooks on the coming years, employers will hopefully begin hiring new industrial talent. To ensure new hires are properly placed, managers should implement advanced industrial training courseware. By assessing the industrial skills of your workforce you can determine their strengths and weaknesses and in turn provide the most up to date and effective industrial skills training. Contact ITC Learning today to find out more.

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