Fall 2001 Issue

Business Resources For a Slow Economy

Reporters, analysts, and associations nationwide have been predicting an economic slowdown for manufacturers since the first of the year. The Manufacturers Alliance's quarterly review of the manufacturing sector indicates a "pronounced and deepening decline in business activity" compared to a year ago. The Alliance also found that manufacturers have been cutting inventories to the tune of $12 billion during the first half of this year alone. In August, the National Association of Purchasing Management reported that the industry declined for the 13th consecutive month, but at a much slower rate.

The cutbacks have affected employees, too. In July, manufacturers nationwide accounted for 54 percent of all mass layoffs. But this is up only slightly from 49 percent a year ago.  In August, there was a decline of 141,000 jobs - totaling to one million lost jobs since July 2000.

South Carolina's leaders, however, say that there is no major economic impact to small and mid-sized manufacturers. Bill Gillespie, chief economist for the State of South Carolina, says, "Other than the textile industry, there has not been much of a slowdown this year for manufacturers." He goes on to say that he suspects small manufacturers have made cuts only in the amount of overtime and production. And the S.C. Department of Commerce appears to concur, estimating that for every dollar in sales, manufacturers add $2.30 to the state's economy - the highest of any economic sector. Overall, South Carolina manufacturers employ 18 percent of the workforce - the third largest single sector, behind jobs in the trade and service sectors.

David Cooper, program manager at SCMEP, has been conducting a survey and study of the state's metalworking manufacturers. His results show that small metalworking companies are guarded in their opinions about today's business climate, but they say that the future looks good.

"Small companies are quite diversified," says Pete DuBrule, manufacturing specialist with SCMEP. "That makes them less prone to be affected by short economic downturns."

What can a small or mid-sized manufacturer do to improve efficiency and effectiveness during a slow or steady business climate? There are several free services available, and this is one of the best times to take advantage of these services:

• A Competitiveness Review(c) - SCMEP provides a CR assessment tool, a 100-question survey administered by one of the organization's experienced manufacturing specialists. The CR is free to any South Carolina manufacturer, regardless of size, and provides a comprehensive assessment of management, quality, operations, marketing, and environmental health and safety compliance. When should you request a CR? When you're feeling the pain of too much or too little business. Request a CR by calling SCMEP's Columbia office at 803-252-6976 or online at www.scmep.org (see "Solutions").
  
• Questline - Questline is the "ask an expert" resource for the manufacturing industry, provided at no cost to current SCMEP customers. Manufacturing specialists, who have many years of experience in the industry, will answer your business, research, and technical questions. The hotline includes answers to questions in the categories of: shop floor troubleshooting, business development, industry/market profiling, equipment supplier searches, energy efficiency, PUC/OSHA/EPA regulations, scrap/waste disposal, power analysis, etc. There is also a free monthly newsletter that accompanies the hotline service. Call Questline at 800-291-7246 to ask your question.
  
• Office of OSHA Voluntary Programs - The S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation has a division called OSHA Voluntary Programs (OVP) that provides a variety of free training courses designed to reduce or eliminate safety and health hazards in the workplace. Training is available to employers and employees of both public and private sectors upon request and may occur onsite (with 12 or more employees) or as part of a regional training program coordinated by OVP. In fiscal year 2000, more than 9500 of South Carolina's employees were trained on various OSHA regulations and other safety and health issues, such as: bloodborne pathogens, lockout/tagout of machinery, excavation, hazard communication, fall protection, personal protective equipment, scaffolding, confined spaces, and forklifts. Contact OVP at 803-734-9599 or www.llr.state.sc.us.