January 2011- Is 2011 going to be better? Marginally, according to Modern Metals’ Ninth Annual Consuming Industries Survey, and that’s not what anybody wants to hear. It’s a tough time to be in business. “Nothing we do comes easy, and nothing can be taken for granted,” commented one OEM survey respondent. Manufacturing companies are concerned about the usual suspects, such as pricing and business activity levels, but the cost of health care and other possible legislation from Washington, such as cap and trade, immigration and taxes, are moving up the list. “Planning becomes challenging with an unpredictable marketplace,” pointed out another OEM respondent.

However, according to the survey data, manufacturers still are investing in their companies, in particular, employee training. Forty-five percent of service center respondents offer some type of training programs for their employees, ranging from on-the-job safety and standard operating procedures to professional development, computer and sales training. Fifty-five percent of OEM and 48 percent of fabricator respondents provide training programs, including on-the-job training, shop work, safety and health training, as well as education for more specialized functions.

Although these improvements help prepare companies for the future, the signs of economic recovery are still too small for them to make significant moves comfortably, such as adding more employees, increasing capacity or branching out into new markets. As a result of the pervasive fear in the marketplace, innovation and growth have ground to a halt.

It’s a vicious cycle. The economy won’t improve until companies and consumers are willing to invest, and companies and consumers aren’t willing to invest until the economy improves. Without expansion, there won’t be any jobs.

Manufacturing can be part of the solution. The steel industry has been touting the importance of infrastructure investment for years—shouting it from the rooftops.

Other nations certainly are eager to climb on the infrastructure bandwagon. In 2011, Saudi Arabia plans to invest $154.7 billion in education and infrastructure to encourage growth and create jobs for its young population. And our neighbors to the north have “seen an unprecedented year of infrastructure investments and development,” according to the Government of Ontario, with more than 700 infrastructure stimulus projects completed in 2010. These projects were the result of a two-year investment of CA$28 billion and they have created more than 300,000 jobs and benefited the entire community.

Every year, as I write the survey, I take a look back on the results from previous years. This year, these words from the January 2004 issue jumped out at me. “‘No visibility’ was the ruling catchphrase for 2003. Economic mirages disguised as recoveries dissolved into dust at closer scrutiny, leaving the recession-toughened metals industry reticent to take anything at face value.”

“No visibility” could sum up this year’s report easily. Hopefully, 2011 will bring some significant changes. Otherwise, seven years from today, we’ll still be lingering in the doldrums with an unclear picture of the future. MM