Manufacturing Forecast (CONT’D FROM PAGE 24)
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
Little wonder that for the second year running, sin- gle-family homebuilders are contending with a significant inventory of unsold homes, which needs to be worked down before too many new ones come on the market. “I continue to be not too optimistic about residential con- struction,” said Conerly. “We’re not going to see mortgage rates coming down. People say we need more housing, but the fact is our population is hardly growing, and with restrictions on immigration population growth will stay fair- ly low.”
AES (ADVANCED EQUIPMENT SALES) www.aesales.net
AES is a leading full-service provider of integrated convey- ance systems specializing in scrap, trim, and dust. AES en- gineers custom scrap systems and works as a partner in process improvement to help businesses achieve greater profitability, productivity, and sustainability. Products include balers, shredders/hoggers, core shredders, filters, fans, and specialized dust control and collection systems. AES is the ex- clusive distributor for the AirShark Rotary Material Separator. For a wide variety of new and used equipment on to- day’s market, visit our website at www.acm-corp.com. BAUMER HHS CORPORATION www.baumerhhs.com hhs is a global leader in advanced gluing, camera verifica- tion and quality assurance systems for the packaging indus- try. Zero-defect quality and elevated production speeds are key parameters in the manufacturing of corrugated boxes. With hhs Xcam Box Monitoring and non-contact flap gluing of corrugated board, hhs offers every option for quality as- surance in the production of boxes with flexo folder gluers. AMERICAN CORRUGATED MACHINE www.acm-corp.com
Forecasts from Oxford Economics put numbers on the phenomenon. “We look for housing starts to fall by 2.4 per- cent in 2027, after falling 1.4 percent in 2026 and 1 percent in 2025,” said Yaros. Multifamily builders are also facing slow rental growth and high rental vacancy rates. Mean- while, labor constraints continue to affect builders, espe- cially amid the crackdown on unauthorized immigration. Commercial Construction Manufacturers also create products for the commercial side of construction, and there the story is much happier, at least for the burgeoning sector that serves the growth of Ai. “On the commercial side, I think we will continue to see strong demand for data centers,” said Conerly. “De- spite the political opposition, there will be plenty of com- munities around the country that will look favorably on the tax revenue they can get from having data centers in their community.” A further positive impetus is that the hyper scalers who are driving the investment—the Amazons and Metas and Microsofts of the world--do not seem to be sensitive to in- terest rates or material costs. What’s good for the data center world, though, does not seem to be helping the rest of the non-residential sec- tor. “The economy is just not growing so quickly that we need a lot more retail stores,” said Conerly. “We're also a bit overbuilt in industrial and warehouse space. We'll build some offices in the suburbs but not much in the down- towns with exceptions like New York and San Francisco.” Labor shortages are yet another familiar challenge for manufacturers, who are not expecting much improvement anytime soon. “Manufacturing tends to have one of the highest percentages of folks within five years of retire-
CORRUGATED MACHINERY SPECIALISTS www.cmsretrofits.com
Leading manufacturer and installer of quality retrofits, up- grades and replacement parts for S&S and Prime Flexo Folder Gluers. Specialists in reconditioning of S&S Flexo Folder Gluers, including ink, air and electrical systems.
CORRUGATOR BELT SERVICE LLC www.corrugator.com
Serving the corrugated box industry since 1991, Chicago- based Corrugator Belt Service LLC maintains corru- gator belts for peak board quality and performance.
CORRUGATED REPLACEMENTS, INC. www.corrugatedparts.com
Corrugated Replacements, Inc. is a production powerhouse that manufactures high quality machine parts and replace- ment parts for the corrugated and paperboard converting industries. CRI can redesign, engineer, and manufacture any part while providing a rapid turn-around rate, keeping machines running at their peak performance.
ESKO www.esko.com
ArtiosCAD and Kongsberg are the most trusted names in CAD/CAM solutions. Esko’s ArtiosCAD is the most widely used CAD software in the world. Esko’s Kongsberg series of tables brings you reliable, outstanding quality for sample- making and short run production.
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26 November 9, 2026
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