With hundreds of participants, this survey report contains the expectations and opinions of manufacturing executives in more than 20 states across the county producing a wide variety of products including industrial/machining, transportation/automotive, construction, food and beverage, and other products.

Some results from the survey include:

• 81% of manufacturers expect revenue to increase in 2018.
• Optimism rates have significantly increased for 2018 markets with manufacturers rating their optimism at 69.3% for regional markets, 69.3% for national markets, and 59.4% for world markets.
• The top priority for manufacturers in 2018 is “Growing Sales”, with 72% of respondents expecting sales increases through organic growth in domestic markets, and 44% expecting sales to grow through developing new products and services.
• Labor continues to be a challenge for manufacturers with half of the respondents expecting to increase hiring in 2018.

U.S. manufacturing industry headwinds are significant and include both internal and external issues, such as inventory turnover ratios, expense changes, labor shortages, growth strategies, the price of raw materials and strength of the dollar, and more.

Strategic manufacturers should have ongoing conversations with all of their advisors, including their accounting and tax provider, as to how to overcome these challenges and achieve their business goals.

“There are a range of value-added services we can offer manufacturers, from tax credits to export tax incentives,” said Lutz Partner and manufacturing client group leader, Jim Honz. “What manufacturers cannot afford to do, is take a ‘wait and see’ approach.”

Please click the button below to view the full 2018 Manufacturing Outlook survey results report.