Business Trends

MHEDA’s Chairman of the Board and CEO discuss the changes to this year’s Critical Impact Factors and how they will shape the industry going forward Every year, the MHEDA Board of Directors release their list of Critical Impact Factors that will be shaping the material handling industry in the upcoming year. These lists deal with trends in the economy, customer ...

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The following 2018 Critical Impact Factors were defined by MHEDA’s Executive Committee. They are defined as “critical” in that they are significant challenges or opportunities that have recently emerged or become pervasive and should be considered as members develop their internal business plans. This year’s Critical Impact Factor planning process deviated slightly from past years, which can be read about ...

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“How will potential deregulation in the Trump Administration impact the material handling industry and/or your company? What changes have you seen so far?” Kevin Thompson, Partner, Conveyor Solutions West, Inc. Newport Beach, CA To understand what we expect out of President Trump’s Executive Order, we need a little history. President Reagan signed an executive order that required the White House ...

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By Steve Harrington In the year 2000, speculation in internet technology firms and web based companies became frenzied. People were talking about the incredible rise of the NASDAQ, their foray into day trading and the unique opportunity presented by the “Worldwide Web”. In board rooms across the country retailers and their suppliers were scrambling to develop e-commerce strategies, evaluating the ...

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“Which of the 2017 Critical Impact Factors is having the biggest impact on your business? What steps/processes is your organization taking to manage this business challenge?” Asked by Kristen Sutherland, Sales Manager at Stein Service & Supply, LLC in Charlotte, NC Buddy Smith, CEO, CMH Services, Columbia, SC I believe the most important critical impact factor for our business is ...

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ITR Economics President Alan Beaulieu will be presenting at the MHEDA Convention on Monday, May 1, 2017 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alan, and his company ITR Economics, have been mainstays at MHEDA Conventions for years and the economic advice that he has given in these presentations has been indispensable. This year, MHEDA and ITR ...

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The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reports that overall industry orders (bookings) for the first 6 months of 2016 decreased 0.93% compared to the same period in 2015, with total orders of $5.67 billion. CEMA estimates industry billed sales (shipments) for the first 6 months of 2016 increased 3.15% compared to the same period in 2015, with total shipments of ...

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A new president elect has been decided, Republicans control all three branches of government, Brexit happened and the U.S. economy keeps chugging along. The question now is at what pace will the economy move and in what direction? It has been a brutal presidential election, there have also been many hard fought and expensive congressional races across the country. The ...

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Despite a record level of material handling new orders in 2016, MHI it predicting that a contraction overall in Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing (MHEM) is likely in 2017. For 2017, we see downside risks that could lead to a contraction with subsequent improvements in 2018 and 2019. The downside risks are the recent slowing in domestic manufacturing, the slowdown in ...

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The measured optimism that MHEDA Suppliers were feeling last year at this time was largely validated, with many Suppliers seeing sales increases, and sales records in some cases. Though manufacturers of material handling equipment saw gains in some areas offset by declines in other areas, a similar sentiment permeates the supplier sector this year as it looks ahead to 2017. ...

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