There’s an ebb and flow to production, sales, and money collection cycles. If you’re out selling, you can’t produce. If you’re in the shop producing, you can’t get out and sell. You get the idea...
But if you're in the business of selling ductwork, why would we tell you you're spending too much time on sheet metal duct fabrication?
Long Production Cycles Eat Away Your Profit
Money is made at the sale — everything after that eats away your gain. Unfortunately, labor shortages are slowing production nationwide. Many manufacturing shops are struggling to find skilled trade workers and, as a result, are facing erratic production, sales, and money collection cycles.
These issues are real impediments to growing — or even maintaining — your sales. In fact, manufacturers recently surveyed by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute stated that being unable to fill positions has impacted their inability to increase revenue growth (82%) and maintain production levels to satisfy demand (81%).1
Where Are All the Fabricators?
Sheet metal duct fabrication requires a strong team of trained laborers. From welders to machinists to tool and die makers, manufacturing quality ductwork takes skill and expertise. Unfortunately, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average annual employment openings for these positions are around 10% of total positions. That means there will be an average of 109,900 job openings in these key roles per year through 2030.
The increased number of job openings can be attributed to a couple of key trends:
- Boomers are reaching retirement age and are (deservedly) exiting the workforce in droves. Before 2020, an average of 2 million Boomers retired. In 2020, over 3 million retired — that's 1.1 million more than expected.2
- The number of "prime-age males" opting for full-time work dropped by 3 million between 1980 and 2019. Only 89% of this demographic participated in the labor force in 2019.3
Our Take on the State of the Sheet Metal Fabrication Industry
Download our report on the state of the industrial duct and metal fabrication workforce for more stats, graphs, and insights into the problem we're all facing. Inside, we also offer up the smartest solution there is to combat the effects of the declining labor pool.
It's Starting to Make Sense...
At this point, you may be asking yourself...
- Why am I still juggling production and sales?
- Why should I struggle with the impossible task of finding good employees?
- How do I shorten the gap between selling a job and collecting money?
We’ve got a good solution.
Using a Sheet Metal Duct Fabrication Partner
Using a trusted sheet metal ductwork manufacturer is one of the best ways to:
- Remove the burden of staffing
- Let you focus on selling
- Stabilize your cash flow
Look for an established manufacturer with a track record of retaining experienced fabricators, offering a breadth of capabilities, and providing excellent customer service and support.
Moving staffing and production issues to a manufacturer allows you to focus on selling rather than filling orders. And you can let the manufacturer carry the material, labor, or other costs throughout the project cycle. In most cases, you won’t owe any upfront costs and will have 30+ days after the product is delivered to pay.
Your Go-to Duct Fab Shop
US Duct is an American-owned and -operated manufacturer of industrial ductwork systems and custom ventilation solutions.
We're a team of dedicated sales reps and skilled fabricators working daily with contractors, ductwork installers, and sheet metal fabricators. Our training and quality assurance processes provide our customers with the support they need to select and sell ductwork to end-users. From the initial conversation to system and take-off design to step-by-step installation instructions, we'll be your go-to guy... your go-to Duct Guy, that is. Our goal is to be a reliable partner that can save you time, save you money, and remove the stress of manufacturing ductwork.
1Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute: Big Gains in Perceptions of US Manufacturing as Innovative, Critical and High Tech
2Pew Research Center analysis of July, Aug and Sept Current Population Survey monthly files (IPUMS)
3BLS Current Population Survey
Our Take on the State of the Industrial Ductwork Fabrication Industry
Download our report on the state of the industrial duct and metal fabrication workforce for more stats, graphs, and insights into the problem we're all facing. Inside, we also offer up the smartest solution there is to combat the effects of the declining labor pool.