LBMC releases "National Manufacturing Outlook Survey" report

LBMC PC, an accounting and business consulting firm based in Nashville, has released the results from the "National Manufacturing Outlook Survey" it conducted in conjunction with 2017 Leading Edge Alliance (LEA Global).

The survey gathered the expectations and opinions of more than 250 manufacturing executives in more than 20 states producing products including industrial/machining, transportation/automotive, construction, and food and beverage.

According to the report, 74 percent of small manufacturers and 69 percent of large manufacturers expect revenue to grow in 2017, although manufacturers are more optimistic about their local/regional economies than the national or global economies.

The top priority for manufacturers in 2017 is cutting operations costs, but respondents in high-growth manufacturing fields were more concerned with R&D, and 12 percent of high-growth respondents plan to reinvest more than 10 percent of annual revenue.

Labor continues to be a challenge for manufacturers, with 67 percent of respondents expecting labor costs to increase and another 7 percent expecting labor costs to increase significantly in 2017.

The report also notes that appropriate cost allocation and accurate and timely data will become required capabilities for successful businesses in the industry. And more manufacturers will be considering both sales and mergers in 2017, as well as strategic acquisitions.

U.S. manufacturing industry headwinds are significant and include both internal issues—such as high inventory-to-sales ratios, the cost of technology, and labor shortages—as well as external issues like the price of raw materials and strength of the dollar.