ajsweatt's blog

Beginning in the first quarter of 2011, MFG.com expanded its MFGWatch Quarterly Survey of North American Manufacturers to include manufacturers from Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA). The survey was conducted from the MFG.com Paris office, and the third quarterly survey for that region was just completed.

On September 8th, 2011, MFG.com participated in the NTMA Purchasing Fair in Chicago, IL. The event was held at the Intercontinental Hotel at O’Hare, and was considered a huge success on many levels.

On September 8th, 2011, MFG.com participated in the NTMA Purchasing Fair in Chicago, IL. The event was held at the Intercontinental Hotel at O'Hare, and was considered a huge success on many levels.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2011, MFG.com expanded its MFGWatch Quarterly Survey of North American Manufacturers to include manufacturers from Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA). The survey was conducted from the MFG.com Paris office, and the second quarterly survey for that region was just completed.

In the latest MFGWatch Quarterly Survey of North American Manufacturers, conducted by MFG.com, encouraging activity in the second quarter of 2011 was mixed with trepidation for the last half of the year, as economic concerns have all manufacturers in a collective 'wait and see' mode.

The reshoring movement - repatriating production back to the US from overseas - is gaining steam.

In a piece produced and posted by Reuters Insider, and using data collected in a joint survey by MFG.com and Reuters, the reshoring trend is examined and discussed by CEOs, shop floor workers, economists and journalists.

More North American buy-side manufacturers report they've experienced "a significant supply chain disruption" in the first quarter of 2011. In the latest MFGWatch Survey, 42% of manufacturers say those disruptions were serious enough to require looking for or actually selecting alternative sources of supply.

In the latest MFGWatch Survey of North American Manufacturers, both buyers and suppliers say they are seeing moderate increases in activity - like inquiries for new work and business conditions - the overall response shows a cooling off from the dramatic growth seen in the last quarter of 2010. A combination of rising costs & inflation, economic uncertainty and the Japanese tragedy seemed to be slowing growth.

Mitch Free, founder & CEO of MFG.com, appeared on Fox Business News' Small Business Spotlight to discuss the value of manufacturing marketplaces, the opportunities for manufacturing on the Internet, how entrepreneurs and suppliers' businesses are served by MFG.com, reshoring production to the US, and the role of MFG.com in enabling commerce between various manufacturers.

Oh, and he's wearing a tie - which is really unusual, if you know Mitch.

The trend of reshoring is picking up more steam these days as OEMs and large manufacturers realize the total costs of managing extended supply