North American Manufacturing Benchmarks and Outlook for 2007

This benchmarking study analyzes data from the IndustryWeek/ Manufacturing Performance Institute (IW/MPI) 2006 Census of Manufacturers and the 2006 Canada Manufacturing Study, sponsored by Advanced Manufacturing and the Manufacturing Performance Institute.

Some of the findings discussed in greater detail in the report include:

• Midsize, discrete manufacturers are prevalent. Eight percent of plants have parent companies earning less than $1 billion in annual revenues, and most of those (60 percent overall) belong to companies that earn less than $100 million annually.
• Pricing pressure persists. Nine of 10 of plants report that costs of components and materials rose in the last year. Conversely, almost a third of plants (28 percent) have lowered prices or kept them the same.
• Pleasing customers remains important, as they continue to demand lower prices and better service.
• Supply chain integration is lacking. Only eight percent of plants have achieved “extensive” integration with suppliers and 11 percent have done so with customers.
• Improvement is imperative. Companies show the desire and ability to make improvements, but practices such as Lean Manufacturing and supply-chain integration need to be more widespread in order to bring down manufacturing costs and achieve lasting improvements sector-wide.

Read the full report:

North American Manufacturing Benchmarks and Outlook for 2007  (309KB)

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