Industrial Market Data Dashboard 2015

MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

This will be an important economic indicator in the months ahead. Distributors, reps and manufacturers will need to watch any major changes in industrial employment, because it has a direct impact on the electrical market. Each employee at a factory can represent $712 in MRO business, $729 in OEM business and $130 in sales of factory automation products, according to the national multipliers in Electrical Wholesaling’s 2016 Market Planning Guide. 

This economic data collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis will update automatically.

PURCHASING MANAGERS INDEX

Source: Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Tempe, AZ

The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly Manufacturing Report on Business always provides an interesting check on the industrial market’s vital signs of the. One of the most popular surveys that the Tempe, Ariz.-association publishes is this monthly survey of purchasing managers, which many analysts consider to be a leading indicator for purchasing activity at industrials. Any reading at 50 points or over indicates a growth environment. As you can see on the chart, the most current reading of 50.1 points shows that the PMI is clinging precariously to its grip on growth territory.

CAPACITY UTILIZATION: MANUFACTURING

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Another indicator of market conditions in Industrial America is capacity utilization, which measures current output versus potential output of U.S. factories. The 80 percent utilization rate is generally considered to be the point where factories begin expanding their facilities or retrofitting existing manufacturing lines. The current figure has been in the 77% range for much of the year and is tracking in the right direction, but it has not hit the 80% mark since May 2000. It hovered around 79% in 2007, shortly before the beginning of the Great Recession.