Category Archive: Market Climate

Seasonality in the World of Manufacturing

While most of the country is worrying about staying warm and digging out from another polar vortex, it’s spring and summer time at Universal Polymer! Well, don’t get us wrong, it is still very (very!) cold here in Ohio. However, this is the time of year orders for plastic and rubber extrusions come flooding in from companies that specialize in warmer weather products. That is the thing about the start of every year, while there is a manufacturing and construction lull during the holidays, it disappears the second the calendar flips to January and February. So, who are the companies and industries that are working so hard to plan for the long hot days of summer?

The lawn care and lawn mower industry is one such industry in full manufacturing mode. According to experts, consumer lawn and garden equipment is worth staggering $5 billion and close to 68 million American households maintain their own lawns. As you can imagine, some of the biggest names in the industry are currently running 24-7 to be ready to satiate this overwhelming demand. If you look at a lawnmower, you can see that rubber molding, and rubber and plastic extrusions, play a major role in keeping them running at peak performance.

The outdoor equipment industry is starting to slow around May, which is when the construction season is just being ramped up. The construction industry, which was worth $900 billion in 2013, must take full advantage of the warmer weather to get projects started and completed before the cold weather returns.

For us at Universal Polymer, it is critical that we time these seasonal shifts carefully. In order to maximize profits and keep our customers happy year in and year out, we make sure to expedite production during the busier times. So, never fear, no matter what time of year it is, Universal Polymer is prepared to handle what ever you can throw at us!

Looking Ahead into 2014

At Universal Polymer and Rubber, we are guardedly optimistic about the upcoming New Year. As the company surveys the business landscape for 2014, there are definitely some positive macro-economic trends that point to continued business and growth.

In particular, automotive production is trending upward to a likely production level of 16.5 million. This is great news for our rubber molding and rubber and plastics extrusion operations.

Another trend we are seeing is in new housing starts. Although still at historically low levels, each year over the past several there has been a trend upward. An increase in the construction of new homes is important for our company with our pipe gasket products. New housing requires additional infrastructure for the new and improving neighborhoods where the new homes are being built. This is all good news for the coming year.

In addition, this increase in construction as well as automotive production means that there will be more hauling of large products to and from factories. These require strong strapping equipment to keep products stable during transportation. We see an increase demand for our rubber strapping products such as our tarp straps and rubber tie downs. Moving into the New Year, the company will also continue to look at strategic acquisitions in the Northeast Ohio area.

It is always important to be optimistic for a new calendar year. We remain so and look forward to reporting on our successes throughout 2014. Happy New Year!