Week 18 in Manufacturing News

US manufacturing sector hits weakest level since October 2016

The US manufacturing sector grew at its weakest level in two and a half years in April, the Institute for Supply Management said in its latest survey.

The group’s index measuring domestic factory activity fell to 52.8 last month, down from 55.3 in March and missing economists’ average forecast of 55. It was the lowest reading for the ISM index since October 2016. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Source: Financial Times.

Our partner Libra Europe Consulting enables Utility Meters Warehouse to realise its growth ambitions with MRPeasy

Utility Meters Warehouse Ltd (UMW) operates in the gas metering sector, designing and manufacturing meter modules and a range of stand-alone products to meet the needs of a growing customer base. Located in Media City, Salford and founded in 2010 by utilities technology expert Paul Ryder.

After researching ‘Material Requirement Planning’ and ‘Customer Relation Management’, Paul found MRPeasy. He liked the functionality and how easy and user-friendly the interfaces looked. Believing UMW could benefit from this solution, Paul contacted Libra Europe Consulting, one of MRPeasy’s UK implementation consultant teams, who were happy to help.

In just a few weeks, MRPeasy has been successfully implemented into the UMW business.

Manufacturing Activity Stumbles in April

The drop in the composite index can primarily be traced to two components: employment and new orders. Starting with employment, the drop in the hiring index to 52.4 from 57.5

A 5.7 drop in the new orders index, now at 51.7, suggests that the sector is not about to exit the current soft patch. 

The export orders index sinking into contraction territory for the first time in three years. Along with anemic growth overseas and lingering uncertainty about tariffs, the 1.2% increase in the dollar over the past three months has added to U.S. manufacturers’ challenges selling into foreign markets.

Source: FXStreet.

UK manufacturing upturn slows as Brexit stockpiling eases

UK manufacturing growth slowed in April as companies eased their stockpiling following the delay of Brexit and new export orders declined, according to a survey of executives.

The IHS Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 53.1 in April, from 55.1 in the previous month, in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters.

Overseas demand fell at the second-fastest pace in four-and-a-half years, with Brexit quoted as the main factor, while stockpiling eased.

Source: Financial Times.

Spending on industrial IoT platforms for manufacturing to surpass $12.4 B by 2024

The report, published by IoT Analytics, a  provider of market insights and competitive intelligence for the Internet of Things (IoT), M2M, and Industry 4.0, found that the market is accelerating in 2019 as more and more industrial manufacturers prioritize their transformation into IoT data-driven companies.

Source: FutureIoT.