Even though the economy remains “sluggish” at best, Bluff Manufacturing can’t really complain. We’ve had a good year so far and look to continuing that upward trend in the last quarter of 2011.
At Bluff Manufacturing, we have been able to report good, strong growth especially in these times. There are constant fears driven by concerns over the still-slow-moving economy, political & policy uncertainty in Washington, and the ongoing unemployment crisis. In spite or these woes, the American Manufacturing Sector is still moving in an encouraging direction. And so are companies like Bluff Manufacturing. Bluff continues to maintain it’s positive trends as we continue to meet the needs of our customers and we continue to add more people to our team.
Steel and aluminum prices might increase in the 4th quarter as the price of raw materials increase putting a slight damper on manufacturing. But according to the October 2011 Manufacturing ISM (Institute of Supply Management) Report On Business, economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October, 2011 for the 27th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 29th consecutive month. Out of the 18 manufacturing industries, 8 have reported growth in October 2011: Computer & Electronic Products, Petroleum & Coal Products, Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products, Nonmetallic Mineral Products, Primary Metals, Fabricated Metal Products, Paper Products; and Machinery. The five manufacturing industries reporting growth in new export orders in October are: Plastics & Rubber Products, Fabricated Metal Products, Miscellaneous Manufacturing, Computer & Electronic Products, and Chemical Products.
Another recent development to consider is the growth in aircraft manufacturing. With airlines always looking for ways to reduce overhead costs, manufacturing has received a lot of attention from the c-level executives looking to reduce fuel consumption by manufacturing sleeker and slimmer-bodied aircrafts. Increase in the order of such airplanes equals increase in aluminum production. Therefore, the lead-time for manufacturing aluminum has also increased.
In the Fabricated Metal Products industry, the general consensus among survey takers was that “Business is very strong, both domestically and internationally.” Clearly, the Fabricated Metal Industry has come out a strong winner this year. We are truly grateful for that. As we continue to watch industry trends, we are confident we can keep up the positive growth trend at Bluff in the remaining two months of 2011.
Tune back in, and we’ll keep you updated for more manufacturing news.
