Sometime over a year ago (read: before the recession), Alan Greenspan said increasing productivity had played a major role in keeping the economy humming. Then things slowed down, and guess what – productivity went up.

According to the latest numbers, manufacturing sector productivity was up 4.1% in the fourth quarter and 2.6% in the third quarter. In fact, only the first quarter of the recession (the second quarter of 2001) posted a decline, coming in at -0.5%.

Some experts are using the words "spectacular" and "miracle" to describe it all. You see, productivity is supposed to suffer a bit when recession hits. But that's not what happened.

And looking forward, we're poised for continued increases in manufacturing productivity, says our economist Daryl Delano. He's expecting strong numbers this year and next.

How this happened is certainly the point of many economic discussions now. Some say the increases are the result of gains made primarily by the high-tech industries. Certain observers say advanced information systems (made by high-tech companies) used across many industries are the reasons for strong productivity. Still others are attributing the strength to just-in-time and related inventory management practices by companies.

Now, answer number one is obviously a red herring (and I didn't make it up). Two and three sit much better but are probably incomplete. The complete answer has to do with how information and inventory are being managed across the supply chain, not just within the four walls of one company or another.

This month at the NA 2002 event in Detroit, we will be giving our Productivity Achievement Awards. When Modern Materials Handling first gave the awards, productivity was coming off its worst showing in several decades.

Since then, productivity's about face has made it tougher each year for any company to win. With that in mind, we congratulate this year's winners: John Deere Commercial Products in manufacturing; Verizon Logistics in warehousing; and, Advance Auto Parts in distribution.

As you read through their stories, (Productivity Award Winners Table of Contents page ) keep in mind the five criteria the MMH Editorial Advisory Board used to judge them: 1) Flexibility to alter operations to respond to unplanned events; 2) Ability to deliver consistently the right item to the right destination at the right time; 3) Customer service as practiced internally and externally; 4) Ability to respond quickly to changing market conditions, and; 5) Demonstrated capability to improve overall operations as needed.

As these three winners prove, the productivity pulse just keeps getting stronger.