Roy Amara once said, “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run”. In the machine tool market, additive manufacturing promises to be revolutionary, enabling the production of parts that would be nigh-impossible to create with conventional machine tools. How is additive manufacturing going to impact the types of parts and profitability of machine shops in the future?
February 22, 2019Aerospace equipment shipments are projected to see growth through 2022. However, as these aircraft are increasingly designed with lighter composite materials, metal service centers may have trouble adapting to this decline in demand from aircraft producers.
June 20, 2018For the metal stamping industry, automotive manufacturing is the leading market, accounting for nearly 80% of demand in 2016. However, this market is expected to be tepid, prompting the industry to look elsewhere for growth.
June 29, 2017While the shortage of microchips for automobiles may be one of the most visible examples of supply chain issues limiting the ability of manufacturers to ramp up output, it's not the only one. The Biden administration has ordered a review of all supply chains critical to the US economy in an effort to identify weaknesses and work to remove them going forward.
March 8, 2021A shortage in aluminum cans continues as a variety of factors contribute to the shortage.
February 26, 2021The continuing shift in the economy toward online shopping and home delivery is driving the construction of new warehousing spaces, and benefiting a number of material suppliers in the process.
March 18, 2021Despite historic declines in coal production volumes, coal mining represented the largest market for explosives in 2016. Although it never came into effect, the announcement of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, among other regulations, encouraged a shift away from coal and towards cleaner, cheaper alternatives like natural gas. However, with the change to the Trump administration came promises to roll back these proposed restrictions an d potentially increase demand for coal, which would boost sales of explosives to the coal mining industry.
November 6, 2017The July 2018 rollback of the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards has roused debate, but any change that occurs is likely to be minimal at best.
February 22, 2019US lime demand is forecast to reach 18.9 million metric tons in 2021. Rising manufacturing output and construction activity will support lime consumption.
October 16, 2017As the US phosphate rock market grows more consolidated each year, new firms find it increasingly difficult to overcome barriers to entry.
May 7, 2018