It looks like the United States may not be heading into a recession after all, according to a new manufacturing report. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index in August was 50.6. That’s down from July’s 50.9, but any number above 50 means manufacturing increased that month, so this is still good news.
Manufacturing has been one of the biggest saving graces for the economy, staying strong while other industries struggled to recover. Despite natural disasters, fluctuating demand and rising commodity prices, manufacturers have been able to keep growing month after month for about two years.
Unfortunately, consumer confidence fell sharply in August. That could be a problem for manufacturing in the coming months, but we’ll have to wait and see until the September report comes out to see which way manufacturing goes.
Whether or not manufacturing stays strong, many companies in this industry are turning to QuickBooks manufacturing software to help them both cut costs and be more efficient. If demand recovers, manufacturers who use this software will be better prepared to fill all their new orders. If demand falls, they’ll have their costs under control and they’ll be in a better situation to survive in spite of declining sales.
Hopefully we’ll avoid falling into a double-dip recession. You should hope for the best but prepare for the worst by using QuickBooks manufacturing software in your business.
It is good to know that manufacturing data looks promising. Now with new patent law signed into effect it will make it much easier for companies to go from innovation of the product to manufacturing. We are manufactures of laser marking systems and see a greater need for our machines in the market place.