Manufacturing Report

The month of August has brought us yet another increase in the demand for manufacturing.  This makes it the 15th consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing economy.  This is good, but also has negative effects.  Not to be the pessimist here, but these negative effects are obvious even to the minimalist consumer.  Shortages of raw materials, extraordinarily long lead times for raw materials, rising prices, and longer ship times are a portion of the effects from this demand.  And to put the cherry on top there are other factors other than just a rise in demand that contribute to this downside, a few are: worker absenteeism, shutdowns due to parts shortages and worker shortages, and difficulties in filling open positions.  Manufacturing is at a spot where the growth is welcomed, but also looked upon with disdain due to the inconvenience of meeting those new goals and numbers.