State of the Industry: Steady as she goes, MHI says

The materials handling industry is expected to grow at a slower clip in 2013 and 2014, but continue to grow. Meanwhile, Supply Chain & Transportation USA will co-locate with Modex at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center in March 2014. Those were two of the announcements at MHI’s annual State of the Industry press conference on Tuesday at ProMat.

First, the numbers.

• New orders grew by 7.7% in 2012 over prior year orders. MHI anticipates new orders to grow by 6% in 2013 and 10% in 2014.

• Shipments grew by 9.6% in 2012 over prior year shipments. MHI expects shipments to grow by 7% in 2013 and 9% in 2014.

• Domestic demand, which is defined as shipments of materials handling equipment plus imports less exports, grew by 10.6% in 2012. Domestic demand is expected to mirror shipments in 2013 (7%) and 2014 (9%).

“We are expecting slower growth, but we are still in a growth mode,” said George Prest, CEO of Material Handling Industry, sponsor of ProMat 2013. Prest added that the industry continues to climb from the nearly 50% drop it experienced in 2007. “We have posted some strong numbers, but we don’t expect to get back to 2007 numbers until 2015.”

Prest and Laurent Noel, vice president of Reed Exhibitions, also announced the co-location of the supply chain show at Modex 2014. The new event will include 50,000 square feet of exhibits as well as educational sessions focused on transportation, logistics, real estate and the future supply chain.

“In 2012, MHI launched Modex as part of our strategic vision to provide supply chain solutions both within and beyond the four walls of an industrial facility,” Prest said. “The co-location represents the next step in this process as we offer attendees supply chain solutions beyond material handling and into logistics and transportation.”

The co-located events will be the largest international expo and conference of its kind held in the U.S. and South America in 2014. More than 500 exhibitors are expected to showcase their solutions on the 230,000 square foot floor. Tens of thousands of manufacturing supply chain professionals from more than 100 countries are expected to attend.

“We are very excited to be working with MHI,” added Noel. “The combined event creates the first U.S. event that offers a one-stop shopping experience for supply chain executives.”

ProMat 2013 is scheduled to be held January 21-24, 2013 in Chicago’s McCormick Place South. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the material handling and logistics industry. Modern’s complete ProMat 2013 coverage.