Governing Illinois, where Surplus Record is located, is a thankless job. Perhaps that is why at the end of his term, J.B. Pritzker will have been the second billionaire in a row to attempt to do right by his state. And it won’t be easy. Truth in Accounting, a non-profit, ran a calculation in 2018 suggesting that the average Chicago resident, on a per capita basis, is on the hook for nearly $130K in city and state debt. What got the state (and city) into this mess was, in large part, Springfield, the state capital, rubber stamping both budgets and pension schemes for decades without any way to pay for them short of issuing debt. In other words, the checkbook was open, but there was no money in the bank account — except an IOU tucked away in a safe deposit box. The bad news for those governing Illinois is that residents not only can … [Read more...] about Illinois Burdens Manufacturers With Its Latest Get out of Debt Plan
Industry News
Managing Through Tariffs — the End of the China-to-U.S. ‘Chicken Run’
As Surplus Record goes to press, U.S. manufacturers are once again threatened with the potential of having to manage through a new round of China tariffs. Never mind the fact that in 2018, 12 out of 18 manufacturing industries in the U.S. saw record profits, despite tariffs, according to a recent MetalMiner analysis. Regardless, if you ask a typical procurement manager today about tariffs, he/she will generally have nothing but negative things to say about their impact. A recent ISM (Institute for Supply Management) study that asked procurement managers in manufacturing if they “believe that tariffs have raised the price of the goods that you produce and deliver to your customers,” 59% of survey participants said “yes.” According to the ISM findings, the average price of goods raised to customers was 6.8%. However, only 30% of … [Read more...] about Managing Through Tariffs — the End of the China-to-U.S. ‘Chicken Run’
Manufacturing and COVID-19: A Survival Guide
COVID-19 is the economic Black Swan event of the year (if not the decade) that no one expected. But how the US government responds to it from a policy standpoint will have as great an impact on the health of domestic manufacturing as the responses businesses take. For both policy makers and executives, navigating these volatile and uncertain times may be a week-to-week challenge; or it could last months or quarters. No one knows yet. In this month’s Publisher’s Page, we first share some of the highlights that NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) provided in a recent policy statement on COVID-19. Then we provide our own tips which we are advising our manufacturing clients on in terms of managing uncertainty and volatility in their own businesses. NAM divides their policy and business recommendations into five groups. The … [Read more...] about Manufacturing and COVID-19: A Survival Guide
Should Coronavirus Cause Us to Rethink Globalization?
We recently did a webinar with approximately 75 manufacturers. And we asked attendees, who mostly came from the procurement, operations and supply chain functions of their companies, what is the most pressing business issue that your company faces with regard to the pandemic. Choices included: supply continuity, price volatility, logistics concerns and cash flow. Among this group, over 50% cited supply continuity as their biggest concern, followed by price volatility at 23%. What does this tell us about the current market, and more important what does it tell us about the future of manufacturing in the aftermath of the pandemic? We can read into it in numerous ways, but for us, what stands out is that manufacturers across different sectors will need to revisit global supply chains. Today, what is closing businesses is not just a … [Read more...] about Should Coronavirus Cause Us to Rethink Globalization?
Should We Apply Market Economics to Safety?
When prices are high, suppliers will make more of a product. Conversely, when demand drops, prices will face downward pressure, and suppliers will produce less. In the modern global supply chain world, markets have adopted even further. This is supply and demand, a fundamental tenet of economics. A Real World Image of the Market Economy To understand a classic supply and demand environment, we need look no further than the boom of hand sanitizer in recent months. Suppliers of spirits (e.g., vodka) have even converted production from booze to make it! As in all markets, if buyers are willing to pay a higher price, the production will come online to support it. Whether this means adding a second or third shift at the plants of existing producers — or new suppliers entering the competitive environment — the market will eventual … [Read more...] about Should We Apply Market Economics to Safety?
