It doesn’t take much for economists to get gloomy. Latest reports paint a concerning picture of American business. But, not to worry, procurement folk: there are other reports that present a brighter picture.
It doesn’t take much for economists to get gloomy. Maybe that’s why people call economics ’the dismal science’. The latest example is the reaction to a recent jobs report from the US Labor Department, which reported last week that the economy added only 126,000 new non-farm jobs in March. Economists were expecting nearly twice that number of new jobs, and so the hand-wringing began. Some blamed the strong US dollar and the fall in oil prices. Others – not necessarily economists – bashed the Obama administration for policy failures.
Not to worry, procurement folk: there are other reports that present a brighter picture.
For example, the latest Institute for Supply Management Report on Manufacturing , released on 3 April 2015, asserted that the US economy overall grew for the 70th consecutive month in March. Yes, growth was a tad slower, with new orders about 0.7% below February, and raw materials prices were lower for the fifth consecutive month. But, hey, growth is growth, whether it’s slow or fast.
And growth is what many financial executives expect, at least those in midsize manufacturing companies. Prime Advantage, a buying consortium, said its latest survey of CFOs showed optimism and positive growth expectations in several industries. Ninety-three percent of respondents said they were expecting their industry to grow, 67% said they were working on new products and services, and 44% said they were increasing research and development efforts.
Oh, and the survey revealed that the focus of capital expenditure for members of the consortium this year will be heavily weighted toward equipment – 96% vs 86% last year.
There are other signs of growth too. Light automotive vehicles sales in the US last month were up 0.6% from March of 2014, and sport utility vehicles and crossover vehicles sales were up more than 5% from a year ago. Trade publication Automotive News said the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate was the third best monthly figure since 2006.
As for housing – another benchmark for the economy – some industry experts predict that once the spring selling season gets underway, 2015 could be the best year for home sales and new housing starts since 2007.
Could things be better? Of course. But, with many of the economic results in so far, it looks like CPOs and their staff will have plenty of work to do the rest of the year.
from Procurement Leaders Blog http://ift.tt/1PeZdoo
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The views expressed in this post and throughout the series are the autor's own and not intended to reflect the views the YQ Matrix platform, its users or any associated organisations.
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