“Rarely are changes thrust upon a business due to changes the industry took upon itself.”
(Quote links to Material Insights blog: “A wake-up call to [successful] coating business managers”)
We’re usually immersed in our businesses. We tend to believe things like, odd or increasing customer demands; frustrating coating formulation changes; stiffening OSHA or EPA regulations; tax and price increases; and other little annoyances and challenges, are born to the finishing business. Most of the time they’re not. More likely they’re the result of trends and other larger forces at work in the world, seemingly unrelated to coating and finishing. Here are 24 indicators I’ve picked from various reliable sources that help support my point.
What can you see?
0.7
Percentage increase in demand for durable goods in the U.S. last month following a 1.1 percent increase in October. “The advance exceeded the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg that projected a 0.3 percent rise”
Source: Christopher Wellisz, Bloomberg
$66b
The amount GE says it could save customers of gas-fired generation systems over the next 15 years if only a modest 1 percent efficiency improvement is gained from the intelligence gleaned using special sensors on large equipment (like their jet engines) that connect to computers in an “Industrial Internet”
Source: Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg Businessweek
+4.5%
Increase in shipments of RVs projected for 2013—a total of 289,900 units
Source: RVIA
3.1
Amount the U.S. deficit shrank from fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2012—from 10.1% to 7% of GDP. A faster reduction than in any period of time since demobilization from World War II
Source: Investors.com
37%
Number of U.S. companies—with sales greater than $1 billion or more—that are either planning on reshoring some of its production or actively considering it
Source: Boston Consulting Group, February 2012
8.1
The diffusion index of current activity in one of the broadest measures of manufacturing conditions increasing from a reading of ‑10.7 in November to 8.1 December 2012
Source: December 2012 Business Outlook Survey, Federal Reserve Bank Of Philadelphia
67.5
Percentage of custom cabinet and woodworking businesses that feel optimistic about 2013. A cool 54.4 percent report higher sales results from 2011 to 2012
Source: Woodiq, Dave Grulke, executive director, Cabinet Makers Association
$10m
Amount Gallup spends on opinions polls in a year
Source: Fast Company
201
Number of housing markets considered “improving” according to parameters established by the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index surged by 76 metros in December, according to IMI data released
Source: Article by National Association of Home Builders
40%
Increase in demand for portable generators predicted in the wake of Hurricane Sandy
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
66,780
Number of homes purchased by investors in one month in 2012
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
7
And up to 20.4 percent is the range of increase in home value among the hardest-hit U.S. cities including Las Vegas, Naples, San Francisco, Miami, Denver, San Jose, Fort Meyers and Phoenix respectively. September 2011 to September 2012
Source: Zillow
71
Age at which one-third of small business owners say they will retire
Source: The Guardian Life Small Business Institute
-60%
Decrease in U.S. oil imports within 10 years allowing U.S. to surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production by 2020
Source: International Energy Agency
28%
Increase in the level of customer expectation since 2002. Yet brands, in all categories overall, have kept up by only 8%
Source: Lookout
73
Percentage of men (and 63% of women) who cannot go an hour without checking their phones
Source: Lookout
30%
Estimated growth of robotic mower sales (in Europe) in 2012
Source: Bloomberg
$85b
Estimated size of the U.S. home-care market and the fastest growing occupation in America. The U.S. department of labor projects the industry will add 1.3 million workers by 2020
Source: Bloomberg
2.7%
Predicted growth of revenue within the U.S. automotive coatings manufacturing market. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years will reach a total market value of $1.5 billion in 2017
Source: Coatings World and new research published by Companiesandmarkets.com
1,000,000,000+
The number of people who have Facebook accounts outdating the question, “should I be on Facebook” and replacing it with, “what should I do when I get there?”
Source: Forbes.com
119,000
U.S. manufacturing plants shut down since 1999. And 5,327,00 jobs lost in the process (1.8 million fewer than in 2008).
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
50
Years since consumers have held onto aging cars, appliances and furniture longer than they have been of late
Source: David Wilson, Bloomberg Businessweek
66.11
The average age of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. Average age of the current Rolling Stones, 68.75
Source: John Lopez, Bloomberg Businessweek
5%
Projected growth in 2013 for U.S. auto and auto-parts makers in 2013
Source: Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation
INSIGHT:
The big picture view is the healthiest default for successful managers of growing finishing operations. Just as the sailor or the pilot observes in his journey, the perspective changes as we move along the way.
The defeated will be those that just kept moving, without reflection, doing what they were doing. They will fail to adapt to a changing world, an evolving customer and a crowded marketplace. They will cling to safety, maintain their blinders and stick with the familiar. We don’t have to know exactly what it all means. We just have to pay attention to the signs.
I welcome your comments, questions or more discussion.