By Andrew Carlsgaard, analytics director, MAPP In the competitive and dynamic landscape for hiring and retaining skilled employees, US manufacturers, particularly the small- and medium-sized businesses, face significant and unique challenges when providing healthcare and other employee benefits. These challenges are intensified by industry-specific factors, such as an aging … [Read more...] about Healthcare and Benefits to Strain Industry Resources at Increased Rate in 2025
Benchmarking
Plastics Industry Leaders’ Forecast Improved for 2025 in Spite of Challenges to End 2024
By Andrew Carlsgaard, benchmarking and analytics director, MAPP At the beginning of 2025, the United States plastics manufacturing industry is signaling recovery and growth. After several years of new economic challenges since the onset of the pandemic, including inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions, optimism is on the horizon as the US manufacturing industry … [Read more...] about Plastics Industry Leaders’ Forecast Improved for 2025 in Spite of Challenges to End 2024
Third-Quarter Pulse: Processors Increasingly Skeptical Going into the Home Stretch of 2024
By Andrew Carlsgaard, analytics director, MAPP After what already has been an uneven year for processors to this point, MAPP’s Quarterly Pulse Report, based on feedback from 90 processing executives, reflects an increasingly skeptical US plastics industry at the end of the third quarter of 2024. This negative trend in processors’ sentiments has continued over the past four … [Read more...] about Third-Quarter Pulse: Processors Increasingly Skeptical Going into the Home Stretch of 2024
Plastics Executives Report Increased Wages in 2024 with Inflation as the Primary Driver
By Andrew Carlsgaard, analytics director, MAPP The 2024 MAPP Wage and Salary Report continues to reflect the impact of heightened inflation on wages and salaries across the US workforce. The survey results of 211 plastics processors representing over 35,000 employees show an increasingly prevalent upward trend, as 57 of the 70 industry job categories (81%) tracked … [Read more...] about Plastics Executives Report Increased Wages in 2024 with Inflation as the Primary Driver
US Manufacturers Face Threat of Increasing Healthcare Rates, Seek Answers to Protecting Margins
By Andrew Carlsgaard, analytics director, MAPP In an increasingly competitive landscape for hiring and retaining skilled employees, rising healthcare and benefits costs for employers in the United States manufacturing sector have become a significant concern. These employers often face challenges in providing affordable healthcare benefits to their employees while … [Read more...] about US Manufacturers Face Threat of Increasing Healthcare Rates, Seek Answers to Protecting Margins