Survey: Manufacturing Growth Rates Diminishing
The report shows automotive-related manufacturing accounts for the largest share of advanced industries jobs in Indiana.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new survey commissioned by Indianapolis-based Katz, Sapper & Miller says Indiana’s manufacturers remain confident about the future despite diminishing financial growth rates. Steve Jones, professor of finance at the Indiana University Kelly School of Business and co-author of the 2016 Indiana Manufacturing Survey, says the decreasing growth rates indicate the recovery from the great recession is maturing.
Co-author Mark Frohlich, associate professor of operations management at the IU Kelley School of Business, adds that regulatory burdens and the lack of a skilled work force are the biggest concerns in this year’s study.
"What we’re seeing is that the gains of the last few years have slowed down, so you still see growth. It’s just a much slower rate of growth than we saw coming out of the recession," Jones tells Inside Indiana Business. "I think the biggest contributing factor is just the maturing of the economic recovery in combination with the fact that, in our survey, the respondents indicate that they expect their product markets are going to slow down in terms of growth in the next three to five years and, in anticipation of that, they’re slowing down the rate of growth themselves."
Frohlich says companies are mainly struggling to find workers will at least some experience in manufacturing.
"In many cases, they’re looking for somebody that has at least two years in manufacturing; the technical base to bring in to help their business grow. We have noticed this year in the survey that relatively unskilled workers as well as production support people and people in the sciences and engineering are also starting to show little upticks in shortages, too."
The authors suggest a multi-pronged approach to addressing the worker shortage issue, which includes groups such as the Indiana Manufacturers Association and Conexus Indiana working with educators at the high school level to introduce students to careers in manufacturing. The survey also says two-year programs at schools such as Vincennes University and Ivy Tech Community College are working to boost the skilled workforce, along with various training programs, apprenticeships and companies actively looking to recruit and train new workers.
Frohlich adds the survey shows a sharp increase leading-edge advanced manufacturing technologies, which is something they will continue to track as the annual survey evolves. You can view the full survey by clicking here.
Frohlich details the slowdown in financial gains among Indiana’s manufacturers.
