Top Small Business Manufacturing Trends in 2018

Published: Dec 11, 2018 by Annie Pilon In Economy 1

The global manufacturing market has experienced a myriad of changes in recent years. Particularly in the U.S., automation, offshoring and technology have made a major impact on manufacturing businesses of all sizes.

Manufacturing Trends

Here are some facts and statistics that illustrate these prominent industry trends.

Manufacturing Market Size

The median annual revenue for manufacturing companies is between $50 and $100 million per year.
About 7 percent of manufacturing companies have annual revenues under $1 million.
In the U.S., manufacturing makes up 12 percent of the national output.

Manufacturing Market Growth

81% of manufacturers expect to see growth in their businesses in 2018.
72% of manufacturing companies expect to grow organically in domestic markets.
44% plan on developing new products and services.
Of manufacturing businesses in the food and beverage sector, 71% experienced growth.
Of those in the construction sector, 69% experienced growth.
64% of machining businesses experienced growth.
59% of automotive manufacturing businesses experienced growth.
52% of transportation manufacturing businesses experienced growth.
61% of manufacturers plan to spend more on personnel expenses in 2018.
American manufacturing by small companies has increased by 48% since 2009.

Manufacturing Jobs Market

There are 12.75 million manufacturing workers in the U.S.
The average wage for a manufacturing employee in the U.S. is $84,832 per year.
The manufacturing industry is expected to have nearly 4.6 million jobs that will go unfilled between 2018 and 2028.
2.2 million jobs are expected to be filled during that time period.
A persistent skills shortage in the U.S. could risk a $2.5 trillion economic output from the manufacturing industry over the next decade.
10.5% of employees in the U.S. are working in the manufacturing industry.

U.S. Manufacturing and Offshoring

The U.S. produces 18% of the world’s goods.
As of 2011, manufacturing costs in China were only about 10 percent as high as they were in the U.S.
About 5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs were offshored between 2001 and 2011.
About a third of those offshored jobs went to manufacturing firms in China.
By 2034, Africa is expected to have a working age population of 1.1 billion, which is larger than that of China or India, potentially leading to a manufacturing boon for the continent.

Marketing Automation and Technology

60% of manufacturers said that cloud adoption led to improved business agility.
The cost of federal regulations impacts businesses with less than 50 employees 2.5 times more than larger firms, making automation even more important for small businesses.
Small business manufacturing productivity has increased by 15%, due mainly to technology investments.

Bottom Line

These statistics demonstrate just how much the manufacturing industry is changing. For small manufacturing businesses, it can help to learn about the trends that are impacting other businesses around the country and the world. Visit the articles at the links below to learn even more about what it takes to run a small manufacturing business.

Photo via Shutterstock

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