Despite global economic and political uncertainty and tepid confidence levels among US consumers and investors, the materials handling industry is expected to show moderate growth over the next two years, according to a report issued earlier this month.
MHI, one of the material handling industry’s leading trade groups, released its State of the Industry report during the Modex conference, which was held March 17 to 20 at the Georgia World Conference Center in Atlanta. MHI CEO George Prest was one of the event’s three keynote speakers.
“We anticipate growth in the range of 7% to 8% in 2014, and from 9% to 10% in 2015,” Prest told conference attendees.
Highlights of the Presentation
Among the highlights of the MHI report:
- Import growth in 2013 was only 3.9%, down substantially from 2012 when imports grew 17.9%. And exports showed no growth at all in 2013, compared to a 12.4% growth the previous year.
- Domestic demand — which is derived by adding the total amount of materials handling equipment and imports and subtracting exports — grow by a respectable 8.5% in 2013. But this figure is expected to shrink to a growth of only 7.9% this year and then jump to 9% by 2015.
- New orders grew by 8.2% in 2013 and were expected to increase 8% this year and 10% next year.
- Total shipments increased 7.8% last year when compared to 2012. They are projected to grow by 7.7% in 2014 and by 8.7% in 2015.
Industry Poised for Growth
lthough theses statistics are not record-setting, Prest said they show an industry poised for long-term growth.
“The numbers are slightly down from where we were projecting last year,” Prest said. “But we’ve had a really nice run as an industry overall fo the past four years. Although we are now on the decelerating side of growth in our cycle, things have been very strong and the economic indicators continue to be strong for our industry.”
Report Based on Survey of Executives
MHI, which was the sponsor of the Modex conference, released its “MHI Annual Industry Report” as part of the event’s activities. The report, which was developed with the help of the consulting group Deloitte, is based on research centering on near future trends, or anticipated industry trends during the next three to five years. It was compiled based on surveys that were sent out to more than 450 supply chain executives and suppliers.
The aim of the report was to create a medium that connects end users to suppliers, Prest said.
He also reviewed the findings of the US Roadmap for Material Handling and Logistics, a joint effort among many different industry associations and publications that was originally released in January. That document outlined the industry’s vision of what material handling will look like by the year 2025.
Opportunities for Newbies
Accompanying Prest during his presentation was Daniel Stanton, the group’s new vice president of education and professional development. Stanton was there to highlight MHI’s Young Professional Network, which seeks to help develop the careers of people entering the material handling industry. The group provides network and mentoring opportunities and professional development activities.
Modex featured an exposition of the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the materials handling and logistics industry. It is one of the industry’s largest annual gatherings.