By Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence Rather suddenly, the threat of recession is back. Many had been predicting the downturn would occur as early as Q3 of last year. However, growth numbers consistently exceeded expectations (2.6% in Q3, 2.9% in Q4, 2.3% in Q1 of this year and another 2.3% in Q2). Then the biggest shock yet – growth in the third … [Read more...] about Year-End Economic Outlook: Here We Go Again
Economy
Organized Labor Activities Cause Concern for Plastics Processors
By Andrew Carlsgaard, business relations manager/analytics director, MAPP According to feedback from 101 processing executives in MAPP’s 2023 Third Quarter Pulse Report, the near-term outlook for the US plastics industry going into the fourth quarter of 2023 is lukewarm; however, it is slightly higher than it was going into the third. The Pulse Report, conducted … [Read more...] about Organized Labor Activities Cause Concern for Plastics Processors
What Recession?
By Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence It would seem to be such a simple request: “Mr. Economic Forecaster, are we or are we not in a recession? How bad might this be, and when might we expect to be out of it – if, indeed, we are in one?” Too bad those in the soothsaying business seem incapable of answering these questions. A survey commissioned … [Read more...] about What Recession?
Contracting in a New World
By Josef Keglewitsch, partner, Ice Miller LLP The industry likely has seen more upheaval in commercial contracts in the past five years than it did in the 20 years that preceded that period. It is no coincidence that recent history has seen an economy beset by unprecedented challenges: pandemics, labor shortages, energy crises, transportation challenges and a supply chain … [Read more...] about Contracting in a New World
A Collision of the Global Supply Chain: Politics, Inflation and Alternative Sources
By Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence Not that manufacturing has avoided talking about international issues in the past, but there have been new developments that have been pushing these issues to the forefront – especially for the plastics industry. There is an old adage that asserts, “When elephants fight it is the mice that suffer.” The US and … [Read more...] about A Collision of the Global Supply Chain: Politics, Inflation and Alternative Sources