MHI released their January 2015 Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing (MHEM) series recently. This report serves as a good proxy for the equipment based market in the Material Handling and Logistics Industry. Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing includes:
- NAICS 333921 Elevators and Moving Stairways
- NAICS 333922 Conveyors and Conveying Equipment
- NAICS 333923 Overhead Traveling Cranes, Hoists and Monorail Systems
- NAICS 333924 Industrial Trucks, Tractors, Mobile Straddle Carriers and Stacker Machinery
Data is collected and reported monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Census according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The source of MHEM data is the Bureau of Census. The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census collects information on a monthly, annual and five year basis. Data is reported monthly in the “M3 (manufacturing, shipments and inventory) Reports”, annually in the “Annual Survey of Manufacturers” and every five years in the “Economic Census”. The M3 Report and the Annual Survey of Manufacturers are based on sample reporting from “key” companies, not actual data for the entire population of companies. That sample population for the M3 Report is small and does not always reflect the dynamics of the entire market.
Revisions occur as follows: Data is estimated each month by an analyst at DOC based on sampling from these companies. And, every month, that data is revised based on updated information. Just as in our statistical program, not everyone reports on time or completely. So, they do their best with what is reported. Annually there is a reconciliation between the M3 Reports and the Annual Survey of Manufacturers that will result in a revision of data. And, following the Economic Census, there is yet another reconciliation with the interim Annual Surveys of Manufacturing. The recent revisions reflect adjustments to reconcile the activity reported in the last Economic Census and subsequent Annual Surveys of Manufacturers.
• MHEM New Orders grew 8.1% in 2014. The outlook is for growth of 9.0% in 2015 and 7.0% in 2016.
• MHEM Shipments grew 4.5% in 2014. Shipments are expected to grow 11.0% in 2015 and 11.0% in 2016 as backlogs are reduced.
• MHEM Domestic Demand grew 5.4% in 2014. Domestic Demand (Shipments plus Imports less Exports) are forecasted to grow 10.0% to 11.0% in 2015, and about 9.0% in 2016.
• Import growth in 2014 was about 5.0%, up a point over 2013. Export growth was flat in 2014. MHEM Imports are forecasted to mirror Domestic Demand in 2015 and and 2016. Exports are expected to be flat or show very modest growth in 2015 and 2016.
Hal Vandiver, President – F. Hal Vandiver and Associates, Inc., serves as Executive Consultant to MHI and produces the MHEM Forecast. Hal can be contacted via email at hvandiver@gmail.com or hvandiver@mhi.org.
