By Bryan Hen, Regional President, North America, Common Robots
For North American companies of all sorts, particularly these within the manufacturing sector, 2022 was something however typical. Or boring. Or simple. ‘Labor shortages’ and ‘Provide chain points’ turned go-to phrases that encapsulated probably the most important challenges for business. Challenges which can be persevering with nicely into 2023.
In a current survey from Nationwide Affiliation of Producers, 75% of manufacturing corporations listed that their greatest problem is ‘attracting and retaining a high quality workforce’. And when taking a look at the most recent statistics, you perceive why; The Bureau of Labor & Statistics estimates that there are round 644,000 open jobs within the manufacturing sector –virtually 50% greater than the pre-pandemic numbers. The nationwide jobless fee has not been this low since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon in 1969.
Provide chain challenges is one other battle for producers within the US and Canada. And though provide facet points have dominated the headlines, super pressures have constructed up on the demand facet too, that means producers are struggling to adapt their assets to quickly altering product mixes and rising demand. On high of this comes inflation mixed with rising rates of interest, making borrowing dearer.
Isn’t there any excellent news, you would possibly ask? COVID is now a manageable scale pandemic, provide chain points are enhancing month-to-month, and inflation has dropped by greater than 50% from its peak.
On high of this, reshoring initiatives are gaining floor round North America as companies and coverage makers at each state and federal ranges acknowledge the significance of getting a robust home manufacturing sector.
In truth, some 62% of producers have already began reshoring or near-shoring their manufacturing capacities, in accordance with a report by Deloitte, primarily based on a survey of 305 executives at transport and manufacturing corporations, largely within the U.S., with annual income of $500 million to greater than $50 billion.