Less than half of Wisconsin manufacturers say that the business climate is heading for the right direction

According to a new report, less than half of the manufacturers of Wisconsin believe that the commercial climate is heading in the right direction, highlighting a feeling of underlying uncertainty around the economy, according to a new report.

The Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity, a public-private partnership that provides resources to manufacturers, has published its fourth annual year Wisconsin manufacturing report Monday. The report gives an overview of how manufacturers see the wider economy, the labor market and the fields of future investment.

Its results are based on a survey of more than 400 manufacturers and a series of discussion groups with leaders of the state industry. The surveys were carried out in the summer of 2024 and the discussion groups took place this fall.

According to the report, only 47% of manufacturers said that the commercial climate was in the right direction, compared to 51% in 2023 and 50% in 2022, according to the report. This is the first time that the share of companies claiming that the economy has been on the right direction diving below 50% since the report.

Thirty-nine percent of manufacturers said they thought the economy slowed down or headed for a recession, compared to 50% in 2022, according to the report.

When the leaders talked about the economy in the discussion groups, their concerns were focused on “uncertainty,” said Buckley Brinkman, executive director of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity.

“We have been planning a recession for three years and it never came,” he said. “Now, people were a little more cautious about the place where the economy took place, although, overall, they were still quite optimistic about their ability to resist the storm.”

An overwhelming majority of the manufacturers of Wisconsin, 85%, said that they were “confident” about the financial future of their own business, according to the report. This number was unchanged from 2023.

Although manufacturers remain confident on their businesses, the report indicates that there are manufacturers “at risk” in the Wisconsin which “may not survive future economic shocks”.

Brinkman admitted that the surveys had been carried out before President Donald Trump took office and began to threaten and implement New prices on Wisconsin’s largest business partners. He says that there is more uncertainty now than when the investigation has been carried out due to the evolution of the fabrics of prices.

“This is one of the things concerning manufacturers right now,” he said. “The manufacturers are really flexible, but you must be able to count on relatively stable markets so that you can make capital investments and other investments that you need to be in good long -term.”

While prices have a high uncertainty, Rockwell Automation, a manufacturer of industrial automation systems based in Milwaukee, does not expect them to have a “material impact” on profitability in 2025, said Christian Rothe, the financial director of the company of the company During a profits call on February 11.

Rothe said that the “prices attenuation plan” included the promulgation of price increases on products affected by tasks.

“These actions disturb our customers, of course, and there will probably be short-term noise,” he said. “We work hard to minimize these disturbances and ensure continuous customer service levels.”

Hiring challenges have been waste in recent years

Beyond the evaluation of economic feeling, the report also found that the research and maintenance of talented workers remained a higher concern for manufacturers. But companies have also reported less difficulty finding workers in the past two years.

The share of companies that say it is “very difficult” to find the workers they need regularly decreased each year from 57% in 2021 to 32% in 2024, according to the report. The share of manufacturers reporting open positions also increased from 58% in 2021 to 52% last year.

“Businesses share with us that they don’t also have time, but it is not easy either,” said Ann Franz, executive director of Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance. “The companies last fall did not hire as many people, so if you are not hiring, you will have no trouble finding talent.”

To stimulate productivity and compensate for the shortage of current labor, manufacturers turn to technology and automation, she said.

Almost two -thirds of Wisconsin manufacturers claim that automation is important for their future, according to the report.

According to the report, the share of companies that say they use or provide that artificial intelligence increased from 23% to 33%. Meanwhile, the part that does not intend to use AI and do not think it will have an impact on their business has increased from 50% to 31%.

Although technology should help companies take up future challenges, a “large number of companies” are under stress and are not ready to make the necessary changes to remain competitive, according to the report.

Brinkman claims that these companies tend to be smaller and have been relatively slow to update their operations in recent decades.

“They were able to do what they have always done and earn a decent living,” said Brinkman. “If you need employees, there is none, so automation becomes important to adopt new technologies so that you can improve your productivity.”

But investing in automation can be expensive and the more technological companies add to their operation, the more they must also invest in cybersecurity, he said.

“It’s really worrying now, because technology is starting to speed up because these people can be left behind,” said Brinkman. “I don’t think we will see less manufacturing in Wisconsin, but we may see fewer manufacturers.”