Forecast 2024 (CONT’D FROM PAGE 28)
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
suburban neighborhood strip centers, which had been ne- glected for too long because of fears that Amazon would capture all of the retail business. Conerly identifies three forces propping up equipment purchases. The first is the CHIPS Act and the construction of semiconductor facilities. The second is the automation being installed by companies nervous about being able to hire people. And the third is the trend toward reshoring by companies that are trying to shorten their supply chains. Businesses looking to borrow funds to fuel capital in- vestments, though, had best prepare for a tougher nego- tiating environment. “The banking sector is in retrenchment and lenders are becoming more risk averse,” said Anirban Basu, Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group (sagepolicy.com). “As a result, developers are having more difficulty lin- ing up financing.” Fueling the concern among financial institutions is a recent spate of loan delinquencies and bankruptcies. Banks are looking at their portfolios and seeing where they can tighten up. Companies holding inexpensive pre-pandemic loans will see an earnings hit when they need to refinance at six or seven percent. Keeping Watch In the opening months of 2024, economists are advis- ing businesses to keep an eye on some key statistics to get an idea of how the year will turn out. Among them: • Inflation. “If progress in core disinflation stalls out, that would likely mean the Fed will keep interest rates at their current level for longer than we are currently as- suming,” said Yaros. • Employment. “Total employment in the country is a good measure of current conditions,” said Conerly. “And any increase in initial claims for unemployment insurance could foreshadow a slowdown.” • The yield curve. “A reversion in which short term inter- est rates exceed long term ones could foreshadow a coming economic slowdown,” said Conerly. Whatever the condition of the tea leaves, businesses in general will encounter a tougher operating environment in 2024, characterized by a need to finesse a tight labor market and reluctant lenders. “In the coming year we will face uncertainty about in- flation and interest rates, shortages of labor, higher ener- gy costs, a slowdown in China’s economy, and recurring threats of a federal government shutdown,” said Palisin. “There are a lot of spinning plates in the air, and some of them may fall and crack.”
ADVANTZWARE www.advantzware.com
Advantzware provides a comprehensive system to address the business management needs of the independent box business, as well as the ERP requirements of full scale pack- aging plants and integrated companies. With modules for estimating, scheduling, production, inventory and account- ing, this scalable system supports companies that produce corrugated boxes, folding cartons, point of purchase dis- plays, assembled partitions, and paperboard products. AIR CONVEYING CORPORATION www.accfilter.com Air Conveying Corporation is a leader in the industry of Pneumatic Conveying Systems and has been in business since 1968. As an equipment manufacturer rather than sim- ply a sales organization, we have complete control over the quality of material and products which make up your pro- posed system. Our equipment is found in printing, folding carton and corrugated plants throughout the world. We've been designing, manufacturing and engineering pneumatic conveying systems since 1984. We partner with our customers to ensure they operate efficiently and guar- antee our systems meet or exceed their specifications. ASDI specializes in full pull-through systems trim separators, and NFPA compliant systems with full electronic controls. AMTECH SOFTWARE www.amtechsoftware.com AIR SYSTEMS DESIGN, INC. www.airsystemsdesign.com Amtech offers the industry’s most innovative and com- prehensive corrugated and packaging ERP, integrated scheduling software, and engineered automation technol- ogy. For over 30 years, Amtech has kept our customers competitive in an ever-changing economy with customer digital storefronts and workflows, business intelligence, automated scheduling for corrugators, converting and shipping, proactive roll stock and inventory management. APEX INTERNATIONAL www.apexinternational.com World’s largest Anilox and Glue & Metering roll manufac- turer, providing the widest selection of corrugated engrav- ings and complementary services. Anilox engraving options available from our North American manufacturing facility include elongated 75°, 60°, 45°, plus Apex’s patented GTT technology. Glue rolls are produced with Hardened Stain- less Steel and a max TIR of 10 µ for Single, Double Facers.
ALBANY INTERNATIONAL www.albint.com
Phillip Perry is an award-winning freelance writer and a regular con- tributor to Board Converting News. His byline has appeared over 3,000 times in the nation's business press. Reach him at https://www.linkedin. com/in/phillipmperry/.
Albany International has a corrugator belt for every appli- cation. Our reputation for durable performance is the trade- mark of the most dependable belts in service today.
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October 23, 2023
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