NAM: Manufacturing Job Openings At Record High
Box Shipments ( U.S. Corrugated Product Shipments) Industry Shipments In Billions of Square Feet Month June 2021
In the latest NAM Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the third quarter, 87.5 percent of respondents felt either some- what or very positive about their company outlook, down from 90.1 percent in the second quarter. The data are con- sistent with solid growth in manufacturing activity, but with some easing from more rapid paces in the Q2, when the outlook had registered the best reading in nearly three years and some measures had reached record highs. At the same time, the labor market remains tight, with respondents predicting employment and wage growth to rise at the fastest rates in Outlook Survey history. Respon- dents also anticipate capital spending to increase by the most since the second quarter of 2018. Workforce shortag- es were cited as the largest downside risk to the economic outlook, followed by supply chain disruptions, increased cost pressures and rising COVID-19 cases. Rising raw material costs once again topped the list of primary business challenges in the third quarter, cited by 86.4 percent of respondents. Other top challenges in the third quarter include the inability to attract and retain a quality workforce, supply chain challenges, transportation and logistics costs and rising health care and insurance costs.
Year
Actual
Percent Change Avg Week Percent Change
2021 2020
35.963 34.395
4.6
8.173 7.817
4.6
Industry Total
Year-to Date
June 2021
Year
Actual
Percent Change Avg Week Percent Change
2021 2020
208.632 196.828
6.0
8.279 7.749
6.8
Industry Total
Containerboard Consumption (Thousands of Tons)
Year
Month
Percent Change Year-to-Date Percent Change
2021 2020
2.9450 2.8182
4.5
14.1095 13.3029
6.1
Container Board Inventory - Corrugator Plants (Thousands of Tons)
Corrugator Plants Only
Date
Percent Change Weeks of Supply
Percent Change
Jun. May
2.1046 1.9962
5.4
3.1 2.9
6.9
Shipping Days
Year
Month
Year-to-Date
2021 2020
22 22
126 127
SOURCE: Fibre Box Association
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September 20, 2021
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