Although the response rate was down from previous years, Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance Chair Jeff Berg said the 15th annual iteration of the organization’s manufacturing vitality index study uncovered an overall strong Northeast Wisconsin manufacturing sector heading into 2025, with important takeaways to be gleaned on the topics of talent and technology.
The survey was administered in October and November by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Center for Customized Research Services. A total of 76 companies participated, representing a 13% response rate and a 95% response confidence level.
Ann Franz, executive director of the alliance, said there were marked differences between the responses filed before and the responses filed after the 2024 U.S. presidential election, noting that every four years the election tends to disrupt the survey due to the business and economic uncertainty it causes and the survey fatigue commonly experienced by prospective respondents.
Berg, vice president operations at Voith US Inc., shared this year’s final survey results at NEWMA’s quarterly membership meeting Dec. 11 on the campus of Fox Valley Technical College.
“This year’s report finds that manufacturers expect increased sales and strong hiring in 2025,” Berg said. “Nearly one out of two manufacturers plan to hire in the first quarter of 2025, in which the hardest roles to fill are machinist and general labor/production occupations.”
Berg said respondents consider their companies to be financially solid, with 93% projecting their firms’ financial health in the next 6 to 12 months will be “healthy” or “quite healthy.” Furthermore, manufacturers believe that they will have strong growth in sales in 2025, with 66% expecting an increase. More than half reported plans to invest in plant modernization, and concerns about supply chain continue to drop since the height of the pandemic. In 2022, 98% of respondents said their supply chains were disrupted; the figure for 2025 is now less than half (47%).
While it was not captured in NEWMA’s research, supply chain concerns could be on the rise nationally in 2025 as manufacturers anticipate President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed blanket 25% tariff on all goods imported into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, as well as potential tariffs on Chinese goods. The advisory firm Marsh recently analyzed more than 120,000 suppliers that support global clients with significant operations in the U.S. and found that 40% of their direct and indirect suppliers are based in Canada, Mexico and China.
And while supply chain issues in Northeast Wisconsin have turned around precipitously, at least for the time being, the industry’s talent shortage remains a top issue. The good news, Franz said, is that concerns about finding talent have also declined since a record 91% of respondents reported them in 2022. In this year’s index, 58% of respondents said they anticipate difficulty locating and acquiring talent. Machinists and CNC machinists remain at the top of the list of most-needed positions.
“One of the greatest concerns from manufacturers is not finding the talent they need,” Franz said, adding that in addition to the specific positions manufacturers identify as hardest to hire, employability skills are also in strong demand — particularly communication, work ethic and attendance.
To download the complete NEWMA Vitality Index study report, go online to newmfgalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025_Vitality_Index.pdf.
