Purolator International Long Island Supply Chain Index: 25% of Long Island Manufacturers Plan to Hire in 2017

Annual Survey Reports Positive Business Conditions on Long Island

– New Orders and Production Expected to Increase – 

JERICHO, NY – October 3, 2017 – Purolator International, a leading provider of North American logistics, today releases the 2017 Purolator International Long Island Supply Chain Index data.  Overall the Index summary for 2017 is 61.6, which indicates that manufacturing leaders anticipate favorable conditions in the coming six months.  There are two areas where optimism is most pronounced for the future – employment and new orders.

The picture for hiring in 2017 is very positive.  60% of surveyed companies had hired a new employee in the last year, and 25% said they would increase the number of employees in the next six months (compared to 17% in 2016).  This hiring outlook was equally positive when the question was asked about employees on Long Island. 23% of executives expect to increase the number of employees at their Long Island location, 65% expect employment levels to remain the same, and only 8% expect that number to decrease.

Over half (53%) of all executives and managers also expect new orders to increase in the next six months. Only 9% mentioned a decrease and another 37% expected new orders to remain the same.  When converted into the index ranging from 0 to 100 (complete decline to complete expansion), new orders yielded a very positive score of 72.4 – the highest Index rating of this year’s Purolator International Long Island Supply Chain Index.

“We at Purolator are encouraged by the 2017 Index data that is showing positive growth for the local community,” said John Costanzo, President, Purolator International.  “These findings are in-line with the state’s Empire State Manufacturing Index and national Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®, which means that Long Island is keeping up with national trends.”

Purolator International Long Island Supply Chain Index

* Asked about past six months. “Don’t know” responses are excluded from the table but included in the calculation of percentages.

Additional findings revealed:

• Nearly half (47%) of Long Island manufacturers expect production levels to increase in the next six months.  Almost half of this increased production was attributed to the emergence of new customers and/or markets, as well as a general improvement in business conditions.
• Executives expected an increase in the price of raw materials in coming months, serving as an additional indicator of growth. 51% of executives expected prices to increase, compared to 2% who expected a decline. The price index increased from 67.5 in 2016 to 75 in 2017.
• Companies expect their backlog of orders to increase rather than decrease as further evidence of good business conditions: 63% expected conditions to remain the same, 24% expected backlog to grow.
• Most expected inventory levels to remain the same (63%).
• Among exporters (35% of respondents), 69% expect levels to remain the same, with 22% expected to increase exporting in 2017.
• Just under a third of companies in the study do not use any air shipment. Among those who do, a majority (74%) had maintained the same level of air shipments as in the last survey.

Long Island Supply Chain Index is an annual survey of Long Island manufacturers’ business forecast for the six months ahead. The survey results announced today reflect Long Island manufacturers’ plans through 2017.  The survey reached 171 Nassau and Suffolk County manufacturing leaders, who participated in the phone survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI).  Data was collected by landline between July 21 – July 31, 2017.  Stony Brook University designed the survey and evaluated the results.  The margin of sampling error for the complete set of data is ±7.5 percentage points with a response rate of 12 percent.

About Purolator International

Purolator International is a subsidiary of Purolator Inc., a leading integrated freight, package and logistics solutions provider in Canada. Purolator International specializes in the air and surface forwarding of Express, Freight and Parcel shipments, customs brokerage, and fulfillment and delivery services to, from and within North America. Purolator International has received numerous industry awards for its superior service and innovative solutions, including “100 Great Supply Chain Projects” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine, “Top 100 Great Supply Chain Partners” by Supply Chain Brain magazine, “Top 100 3PL Providers” by Inbound Logistics, and Logistics Management’s “Quest for Quality Award.” In addition to facilities throughout New York, Purolator International has locations in key U.S. markets including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Nashville, Newark, Houston, Indianapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and St. Louis.

For more information about Purolator International, visit www.purolatorinternational.com.