Enterprise Minnesota recently released their 2016 State of Manufacturing report. As part of the release they conduct a “Road Show” around the state. Last week they stopped by South Central College and provided insight into the manufacturing sector.

The report is based on a survey that was conducted February 14 – March 3, 2016, among 400 manufacturing executives; it has a margin of error of +4.9%. Respondent titles included owners, CEOs, CFOs, COOs, presidents, vice presidents, and managing officers.

The report is conducted every year, so one the most valuable insights are the benchmark comparisons. Statewide, company confidence is at an all time high (90% of respondents stating they feel confidant in the future of their company). In southern Minnesota, that confidence factor raises up to 91%.

Looking at finances, gross revenue increases are flat however there is a rise in profitability expectations. Capital expenditure increases are the lowest they’ve been since 2010.

Across the entire state, potential concerns didn’t vary much by region. A common theme was related to workforce:

But there is opportunity to address this situation. Statewide, only 34% of manufacturers are engaged in collaboration with a local educational institutions. We are seeing more success of this in southern Minnesota as that number rises to 45%.

Another opportunity for employee retention is investing in employee development. Statewide, 68% of manufacturers are not currently investing in employee development. This is sometimes a tough investment to make for smaller companies as seen in the chart below:

More information on the survey can be found here.